Apple finally cracked. For just under a year the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has been requiring the Apple brand to allow payment systems other than its own on App Store dating apps . After several attempts to partially implement the ordinance, Cupertino has announcement on June 10 an update to its rules.
Apple’s changes finally validated by the ACM
The modifications have been granted by Apple” Following productive conversations with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) “Explains a message from the company with moderate enthusiasm.
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First of all, they will be able to offer both an in-app third-party payment system and an external link to a dedicated site. In the previous compliance attempt, in March, the two were not possible together.
On its commission, Apple had decided to set it at 27% if it was carried out in a system other than its own. Or 3% reduction for the few services imposed at 30%, but a big additional cost for small developers of the App Store Small Business Program, whose commission is set at 15%. From now on it will be a reduction of 3% on the commission paid initially.
Apple has also slightly lowered the very strict technical requirements imposed on third-party payment systems. The Verge reports that the company has finally retouched the content of its prevention message displayed before a user uses a payment system other than its own, deemed too dissuasive and its way of validating it.
For the AMC ” With this concession, Apple will meet the requirements that the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets has set under European and Dutch competition rules. “. The third attempt at compliance finally seems to be the right one.
If the case has dragged on so much, it is because of Apple’s bad will. The order issued by the ACM was published in August 2021, following a complaint from Match Group, owner, among others, of Tinder. Cupertino had him suspended until December, but from January had to update his system under penalty of paying a penalty of 50 million euros maximum. Amounts that Apple has settled, its February and March attempts not meeting the requirements of the Dutch Competition Authority.
Martijn Snoep, chairman of the board of the ACM, did not fail to remind Apple of its duties in a communicated published on June 11, “ In the digital economy, powerful corporations have a special responsibility to keep the market fair and open. Apple evaded this responsibility and abused its dominant position over dating app providers. We are happy that Apple has finally brought its conditions in line with European and Dutch competition rules. This will give application providers more opportunities to compete “.
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It’s clear that Apple didn’t happily comply with the ACM requirements. The apple brand made no secret of it, concluding its press release with ” We do not believe that some of these changes are in the best interest of our users’ privacy or data security. “. The company recalled appealing the decision.
However, Apple’s position appears difficult. If the case simply concerns the Netherlands and dating applications, it could multiply throughout the territory of the European Union, especially with the arrival of the Digital Markets Act. Apple has not hesitated to fight to defend its interests, but its closed in-app payment system seems ultimately doomed.