Apple's Fines in Dutch Antitrust Case Hit 50 Million Euros
Apple today was fined another €5 million ($5.5 million) in the Netherlands by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) as the company has failed to adequately comply with mandated alternate payment system requirements for dating apps.
The rules went into effect in January, and since then, Apple has received a €5 million fine each week. This is the 10th fine, for a total of 50 million euros. Apple has opted to allow dating apps in the Netherlands to use outside payment methods, but developers who wish to take advantage of this feature must submit a separate app binary and cannot offer third-party payment options and in-app purchases at the same time.
The ACM does not think that dating app developers should need to choose between using alternative payments or in-app payments, and has said that the apps must be able to offer both options. Apple has reduced its commission on purchases using third-party payment systems, asking for 27 percent instead of 30 percent, with developers required to submit a monthly record of sales so Apple can track its commission.
Last week, Reuters said that Apple's fines after 50 million euros could be higher, so we'll have to see how the dispute between the ACM and Apple in the Netherlands plays out. Apple on Sunday again adjusted its proposal for compliance, and the ACM says that it "should result in definitive conditions for dating-app providers that wish to use the App Store," putting an end to the fines.
The ACM plans to review Apple's new submission and will soon hand down a ruling on whether Apple is in compliance should it implement the new measures outlined in the proposal. If the ACM decides Apple's proposal is not adequate, the ACM says that Apple could be subjected to another order with "possibly higher penalties" to encourage Apple to comply.
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Apple is facing yet another €5 million ($5.5 million) fine in the Netherlands for failing to sufficiently meet recently mandated alternative payment system requirements for dating apps, reports Reuters.
Apple has been fined €45 million ($49.5 million) by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to date, with Apple racking up a new fine each week. The ACM initially said that it...
Apple has been hit with its ninth €5 million ($5.5 million) fine in the Netherlands for ostensibly continuing to insufficiently meet new requirements regarding alternative payment systems for dating apps, Reuters reports.
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Dutch regulators have levied another fine of €5 million against Apple in a continued dispute over alternative payment systems for dating apps. Apple's total fines have now reached €25 million as regulators assess weekly fines up to a total of €50 million or until Apple satisfies the regulatory requirements.
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Apple today announced that developers of dating apps on the App Store in the Netherlands that use an alternative payments system no longer need to create and use a separate binary. This change allows these developers to accept alternative payments in their existing dating apps, but only in the Netherlands and on devices running iOS or iPadOS.
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Wednesday February 23, 2022 6:14 am PST by
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The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) today fined Apple an additional five million euros for allegedly failing to satisfy the requirements it set regarding alternative payment systems for dating apps. This is the fourth consecutive week that the ACM has fined Apple, with the total penalty now standing at 20 million euros.
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The Netherlands' Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Apple five million euros for a third consecutive week for allegedly failing to satisfy the requirements it set regarding alternative payment systems for dating apps, according to Reuters.
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Top Rated Comments
* Nearly all iPhones in this country will be destroyed by everyone taking advantage of the new option OR
* Some iPhones in this country will be destroyed by some taking advantage of the new option OR
* Nearly nothing will happen and all of the spin about the certain cataclysm that will follow such an option will be seen for what it likely is: far, far overblown.
We ALL have Macs running almost the same OS. Those Macs can buy/install Apps from an iOS-like store completely controlled by Apple or Apps direct from third parties. Are all Macs completely destroyed by us all having that kind of store flexibility already?
How does Apple address this situation on Macs? They pop up a warning about installing apps from unknown sources. Then it's on the Mac owner to proceed or not proceed. If they proceed and the owner is actually installing every computer virus ever created, that's clearly on the owner. Apple could send a "we warned them" notice to itself so that when this person is calling Apple for help, Apple customer service will know that software was installed from questionable sources.
Has the flexibility to purchase Mac Apps from wherever brought all Macs to their knees? Not at all. Have some Macs been compromised by that flexibility? Yes. iOS devices will likely be the same. Most will probably continue to get apps as they do now. Those concerned about safety will continue to get their apps from what they believe is the safest source. Some of those less concerned or too dumb or naive may- in fact- compromise their iDevices.
Here's a chance to show the world how "terrible" it would actually be for a finite group of people to facilitate competition... just like all of us already have with our Macs. If it actually is a disaster, a slice of one relatively small group of people will suffer the consequences, learn from their mistake and not make it again. On the other hand, if iOS goes as macOS is already, the flexibility to purchase from more than one source will likely deliver better prices and more money actually reaching the developers instead of a company already richer than any other.
Before it's forced on Apple by many countries, here's an easy opportunity to prove the disaster... or reveal the hype is false. If disaster, other countries wanting the same may pull back and preserve the "as is." A very simple test will clearly prove it if it will be as spun.