Apple Would Rather Pay Up to €50 Million in Fines Than Address 'Gatekeeper' App Store Behavior, Says EU Chief

Apple would rather pay a maximum of €50 million in fines than address concerns brought forward by the Dutch competition authority regarding developer access to third-party payment methods on the App Store, the EU's head of digital policy, Margrethe Vestager, has said.

iOS App Store General Feature Dock 2
During a speech about the digital economy and privacy (via TechCrunch), Vestager said that Apple "essentially prefers paying periodic fines, rather than comply with a decision of the Dutch Competition Authority on the terms and conditions for third parties to access" the ‌App Store‌.

Effective enforcement, which includes the Commission having sufficient resources to do so, will be key to ensure compliance. Some gatekeepers may be tempted to play for time or try to circumvent the rules. Apple's conduct in the Netherlands these days may be an example. As we understand it, Apple essentially prefers paying periodic fines, rather than comply with a decision of the Dutch Competition Authority on the terms and conditions for third parties to access its App Store. And that will also be one of the obligations included in the DMA.

Last month, in compliance with a ruling from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), Apple announced it would allow dating apps on the Dutch ‌App Store‌ to use third-party payment methods for in-app purchases. In order to do so, developers are forced to keep two separate app binaries, one for their Dutch customers and another for customers elsewhere.

Additionally, Apple says it will collect a 27% commission on all purchases made with third-party payment methods, 3% less than the typical 30% cut the company takes when developers use the ‌App Store‌'s in-app purchase system. Apple's 27% commission is in addition to developers paying for a third-party payment processing platform, and any related charges of that process.

Shortly after Apple announced its plan, the authority said it would investigate the changes and determine whether or not Apple was abiding by the ruling.

The agency ultimately ruled that Apple's plans are not sufficient in addressing its concerns around the App Store. Consequently, the authority said it would fine Apple €5 million per week up to a maximum of €50 million until it complies. Apple has so far been fined five times, equating to a total of €25 million.

Apple has "refused to put forward any serious proposals," the ACM has said. The ACM added that Apple’s behavior is "regrettable" and it has "clearly explained to Apple how they can comply with ACM’s requirements." Apple's announced plans create "too many barriers for dating-app providers that wish to use their own payment systems," and it must "set reasonable conditions for the use of its services," the ACM continued.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: Out Now!]

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

Apple Says Installing iOS 26 Might Impact Battery Life

Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal. A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps. Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
apple n1 chip

Apple's New N1 Chip in iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Has a Wi-Fi 7 Limitation

Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation. According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 Get iOS 26 Features With New Firmware Update

Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe. The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware. With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
iPhone 17 Pro Air Boxes

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Boxes Revealed

Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday. Image Credit: Jon Freier Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...

Top Rated Comments

darkpaw Avatar
47 months ago
From what I can tell, Apple was told to allow alternate payment methods for dating apps in the Netherlands, right? That's what they're doing. The developer can choose which payment methods to use, and if they use a third-party one, then Apple charges them the standard 30% commission minus the 3% it looks like Apple pays for the payment processing.

If this is a wider issue about whether Apple should be allowed to charge 27% for everything it provides aside from payment processing, then was that part of the legal case? I don't know.

Is 27% too much for hosting apps, and supplying, maintaining and updating developer tools, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, watchOS etc.? And the legal team they employ to make sure apps can be sold correctly in various countries? Again, I don't know. I know Apple do make a profit on the App Store, and I think they should be able to do so. That some developers and lawmakers think 30%/27% is too much is perhaps just a question of greed/fairness.

No one is telling Apple they can't make 40% profit margin on an iPhone.

I'm a developer, and I think the 30% is fine for what they provide me. YMMV.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
q64ceo Avatar
47 months ago
If it's cheaper to pay fines over obeying the law, a corporation will always go for the fines.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vipergts2207 Avatar
47 months ago
Apple's going to be paying out an awful lot in fines if this is the way they intend to go in future situations like this.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnipgnop Avatar
47 months ago
Multiple SKUs are a common practice in the hardware/software industry. It doesn't really make sense for the ACM to try and say that Apple giving developers the ability to have a separate SKU of their dating app with 3rd party payments isn't a serious proposal.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
47 months ago
All this fuss over a bunch of dating apps
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiVolt Avatar
47 months ago
Monetary fines are chump change for Apple.

If the Dutch want to get serious, they can ban sales.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)