Dutch ACM says Apple's latest changes to App Store rules, which let developers of dating apps choose payment methods, meet local and EU competition requirements
It's still unhappy about the carve-out for dating apps in the Netherlands — Apple announced on Friday that it once again updated …
Context & Ripple Effects
The ACM’s intervention began with an order requiring alternative payments for dating apps, then Apple offered third-party processing while retaining a 27% commission on those transactions. The regulator now accepts Apple’s revised approach as meeting Dutch and EU competition requirements.
That resolves the immediate compliance question but not the policy boundary: ACM remains dissatisfied that the remedy is confined to dating apps in the Netherlands. The case is therefore a narrow test of Apple’s claimed compliance through minor technical changes, rather than a general App Store opening.
First-order effects
- Dutch dating-app developers can choose their payment method under rules ACM considers compliant, while Apple avoids further noncompliance over the Dutch order.
- Apple retains a regulated payment role through its commission structure even when a developer uses a third-party processor.
Second-order effects
- Dating-app developers must weigh third-party payment control against Apple’s remaining commission, limiting how much the new option changes their transaction economics.
- ACM’s acceptance gives Apple a compliance template for the specific Dutch dating-app remedy, while the regulator’s objection to the carve-out preserves pressure over its scope.
Third-order effects
- The case points to platform-payment remedies that regulate both access to alternative payments and the take rate attached to them, rather than treating alternative processing as a complete separation from the platform.
- If regulators continue to target app categories or national markets individually, App Store payment policy is likely to evolve through narrow, jurisdiction-specific obligations instead of a single uniform model.
The trend: App-store payment regulation is moving from bans on exclusive in-app payments toward scrutiny of the fees and constraints that remain after alternative payment options are introduced.