Apple has expanded its limited payment options for dating apps and now adheres to European and Dutch competition rules. That writes supervisor Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) on Saturday. ACM had been trying to enforce the adjustment for months and eventually imposed a penalty of EUR 50 million on Apple.
The company imposed “unreasonable conditions” on payments on dating apps such as Tinder, Lexa and Bumble, ACM finds. If a customer subscribed to such an app, the payment could only be processed by Apple. When the app owners themselves suggested an alternative payment method, their product was removed from the App Store. Apple often charged a 30 percent commission for processing payments. Apple says it sees iPhone app users as its own customers, so it wants to know what services they use in third-party apps. Not only in dating apps, but also in music services and newspaper apps.
Apple abused its dominant position, according to ACM. Now that the company has amended the terms, it will give app providers more opportunities to compete, the regulator says. For example, the providers themselves can choose a payment system in their app and they have the option to refer customers to their own website to pay. Apple’s payment policy has also been criticized in other countries. Google, and the American company Epic Games, have already taken the tech company to court.