Netherlands court rules Apple abused App Store dominance
A Netherlands court confirmed a 2021 ruling by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) that Apple abused its dominant position by imposing unfair conditions on dating app providers in its App Store, Reuters reported.
The Rotterdam District Court upheld the ACM's finding that dating app providers were required to use Apple's payment system, prohibited from referring to external payment options, and obliged to pay a 30% commission (15% for small providers) to Apple.
The court also validated the ACM's order, which carried a penalty for non-compliance.
Apple was fined €50m ($58m) by the ACM in 2021 for failing to comply with mandated changes to its App Store practices, which the regulator said violated EU antitrust laws.
Apple announced plans to appeal, with a spokesperson telling Reuters, 'This ruling undermines the technology and tools we've created to benefit developers and protect users' privacy and security, and we plan to appeal.'
Meanwhile, Apple faces mounting pressure from EU antitrust regulators under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
According to Bloomberg, with a deadline of 26 June 2025 approaching, EU officials are prepared to issue a new charge sheet unless Apple addresses alleged violations of the DMA.
These violations centre on Apple's restrictions preventing developers from informing users about cheaper payment options outside the App Store.
Sources familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously to Bloomberg, indicated that failure to comply could lead to fines of up to 5% of Apple's average daily global revenue per day.
However, Apple could avoid escalation by submitting a proposal that satisfies the European Commission's concerns.
An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg that EU regulators 'keep changing the goalposts for what DMA compliance is, making it impossible to comply with their steering decision,' adding that the company is dedicating 'hundreds of thousands of hours' to meet the bloc's evolving regulations.
The European Commission, in response, declined to speculate on next steps, noting that Apple still has time to submit a compliance proposal and that regulators have 'ample regulatory powers' if Apple fails to meet its DMA obligations.
In 2024, the company faced a €1.8bn fine for restricting music-streaming competitors on the iPhone and was ordered to pay Ireland €13bn in back taxes.
Other companies, including Alphabet Inc.'s Google, which has faced over $8bn in fines, and Amazon.com, which was forced to alter its marketplace platform, have also been targeted.
The EU is also investigating Microsoft's Teams video conferencing software under its abuse-of-dominance rules.
"Netherlands court rules Apple abused App Store dominance" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.
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