The Dutch competition watchdog, ACM, has announced that it has rejected Apple’s objections to fines totaling 50 million euros ($53 million) for failing to comply with orders to limit the dominant position of Apple’s App Store.
While Apple has complied with most of the requirements to open its App Store to alternative forms of payment for dating apps in the Netherlands, there is one undisclosed condition related to the fines that the company has not met.
In 2021, the ACM ruled that Apple had violated Dutch competition laws in the dating app market and mandated that Apple allow developers of dating apps to use third-party payment processors. Throughout the period of non-compliance, Apple was fined 5 million euros per week, resulting in a total of 50 million euros.
Apple objected to these fines, arguing that the regulator had inaccurately defined relevant markets and overestimated Apple’s dominance in the dating app market. However, the regulator has rejected all of Apple’s objections in a decision dated July 13, 2023, which was recently published.
In response, Apple stated, “We disagree with the ACM’s original order, which undermines investment incentives and does not prioritize our users’ privacy or data security. Since our administrative appeal has been denied by the ACM, we will now appeal to the Netherlands courts.”
The ACM has stated that if it wins in court, it will disclose the undisclosed portion of the proceedings objected to by Apple.
