Dutch regulator rejects Apple’s objections against fines

October 4, 2023

By Bart Meijer

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch competition watchdog ACM on Monday said it had rejected objections by Apple against fines of 50 million euros ($52.9 million) it had given the company over failure to comply with regulations aimed at limiting the dominant position of Apple’s App Store.

The ACM said Apple had by now complied with most of its demands to open its App Store to alternative forms of payment for dating apps in the Netherlands, but had not met an undisclosed third element of the conditions related to the fines.

The ACM in 2021 ruled that Apple violated Dutch competition laws in the dating app market and required Apple to allow developers of dating apps to use third-party payment processors.

It fined Apple 5 million euros per week, to a maximum of 50 million euros, for the time it failed to comply with these orders.

Dutch regulator rejects Apple’s objections against fines — FILE PHOTO: A man holds a bag with a new iPhone inside as Apple’s new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China, next to an Apple Store, in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Apple has objected to these fines, saying that the regulator had incorrectly defined relevant markets and had overestimated the dominance of its position in the dating app market and the extent to which it might have abused this position.

The regulator rejected all of Apple’s objections in a decision on July 13, 2023, which was published on Monday.

Apple has filed an appeal against the ruling, the ACM said.

($1 = 0.9454 euros)