Dutch Regulators Firing Up Another Round of Fines Against Apple

03 MAY 2022 - Get ready to reset the tote-board for Apple in the Netherlands. You likely remember the story from the first quarter of the year - the one that had Dutch regulators requiring changes to how the Apple’s App Store handles dating Apps in Holland. The primary concern was that Apple had to let such apps employ third-party payment options, not just Apple’s in-app payment mechanism. Apple agreed, but said that developers would be required to build a separate version of their apps if they went the third party route - a requirement the company later backed off of. The whole time, the Netherland’s Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) was fining Apple €5 million a week up to €50 million - the maximum allowed for the alleged violation. Simultaneously, Apple and the ACM were going back-and-forth on plans and proposals. 

Toward the end of March, as Apple fines hit the magical €50 million mark, the ACM said Apple had submitted “new proposals,” that it would “assess the substance of these proposals,” and that it would consider the proposals along with “various market participants.” It did and those were rejected… but - to be honest - we all seemed to kind of forget that without the dollar amount climbing week after week. So here comes the ACM to jog everyone’s memory - Apple included. 

A piece from MacRumors had the Netherland’s ACM indicating Monday that:

…while Apple eliminating its requirement for Dutch dating apps to create a separate app binary in order to accept alternative payments was an improvement, the company has yet to fully comply with Dutch and European regulations. The statement did not outline the specific conditions that Apple has yet to comply with.

I guess we can get to the crime later though. Let’s jump back to the punishment! According to the report:

The ACM already fined Apple a total of €50 million between January and March for failing to comply with the order, and the competition regulator said it is now preparing a new order with additional penalties that will be published in the coming weeks.