Dutch antitrust regulator orders Apple to let dating apps in the App Store offer alternative payment systems by January 15 or face up to a €50M fine
company has been part of a growing coalition anti app store-practices. South Korea was another win for them, as we reported in November: https://pro.politico.eu/... https://twitter.com/... Pieter Haeck / @pieter_haeck : Not the Christmas gift Apple hoped it would get: Dutch competition authority orders App Store tweaks, including using other payment systems than Apple's systems. https://www.acm.nl/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : The App Store being declared an abusive monopoly across various countries (Russia, Japan, Netherlands, etc) seems unlikely to get Apple to ease off choking the creator economy by collecting 30% tax for IAPs. They're appealing every case & resisting hard. https://www.reuters.com/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : I'd assumed the brand tarnish of leaked emails and being declared an abusive monopoly on every continent would cause Apple to yield on the 30% cut but I was wrong. With iPhone sales plateaued, squeezing money out of app developers is a revenue growth strategy they can't give up.
Reuters
Context & Ripple Effects
The ACM order begins a Netherlands-only remedy aimed at dating apps, but the related coverage shows Apple subsequently agreed to permit alternative payment options rather than contesting the deadline outright. By February, Apple described its implementation as a minor technical change, turning the dispute from whether it would comply into how narrowly compliance would be defined.
First-order effects
Apple must enable Dutch dating-app developers to offer payment systems outside App Store in-app purchases by January 15 or risk fines of up to €50 million.
Eligible dating-app developers gain a new payment option for Dutch users, reducing their exclusive dependence on Apple’s billing system in that market.
Second-order effects
Apple must operate a distinct compliance path for a defined app category and country, adding implementation and review complexity to App Store rules.
The remedy directly tests Apple’s control over payment terms for qualifying dating-app transactions, the core issue captured by the ACM’s original order.
Third-order effects
If regulators continue to pursue category- and country-specific remedies, major app stores may evolve through a patchwork of local payment rules rather than one uniform global policy.
The case strengthens the broader regulatory focus on platform gatekeepers’ control of transactions at the access layer, even when remedies begin with a narrow developer segment.
The trend: App-store regulation is moving toward targeted limits on gatekeepers’ payment control, with local remedies forcing incremental changes to global platform rules.
The patchwork of payments requirements from various countries' regulatory bodies is more sustainable for Apple than for developers. Most recently: Netherlands competition board rules that Apple must allow *dating apps* to use alternative payments methods https://www.reuters.com/.…
(1) Incredible Christmas gift for those fighting for fair treament of app developers by @Apple. Rotterdam court rules that the @AutoriteitCM was right to find the obligation for dating apps providers to use Apple's in app payment solution breaches Article 102 TFEU. @appfairness
2/ It's cumbersome and inconvenient for app developers to implement payments methods for various countries (especially small countries like NL). I dont see these country-level rulings as cumulatively putting pressure on Apple to implement a new global policy
“Today's Rotterdam Court ruling confirms that the ACM was right to find that the obligation imposed by Apple on dating app developers to use its in-app payment system (IAP) breaches EU and Dutch competition law.” Read our full statement: https://appfairness.org/...
Big Tech monopolies are holding the digital marketplace hostage. My antitrust bills restore competition without overextending the government's control over the market. https://www.reuters.com/...
Note: this is a big win for Match Group, which you probably know better thanks to @Tinder — company has been part of a growing coalition anti app store-practices. South Korea was another win for them, as we reported in November: https://pro.politico.eu/... https://twitter.com/...
Not the Christmas gift Apple hoped it would get: Dutch competition authority orders App Store tweaks, including using other payment systems than Apple's systems. https://www.acm.nl/...
The App Store being declared an abusive monopoly across various countries (Russia, Japan, Netherlands, etc) seems unlikely to get Apple to ease off choking the creator economy by collecting 30% tax for IAPs. They're appealing every case & resisting hard. https://www.reuters.com/.…
I'd assumed the brand tarnish of leaked emails and being declared an abusive monopoly on every continent would cause Apple to yield on the 30% cut but I was wrong. With iPhone sales plateaued, squeezing money out of app developers is a revenue growth strategy they can't give up.