In a letter sent to the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Market (ACM), Apple claims that it has complied with its requirements to allow third-party payment options in the App Store for dating apps. In addition, the tech giant was recently hit with another $5.7 million fine for the sixth consecutive week which has added up to $33 million in fines.
Apple argues it has fulfilled the demands made by a Dutch watchdog
Apple has been fined $5.7 million weekly by Dutch regulators since it missed a January 15, 2022 deadline to make the ordered changes. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets will continue to fine Apple for a maximum of 10 weeks, for a total fine of 50 million euros or until it makes satisfactory changes to the Dutch App Store.
Apple has previously claimed it is complying with the order. On February 4, the tech giant made an announcement saying it would charge a 27% commission fee for developers using alternative payment methods for Dutch dating apps in place of its in-app purchase system in the Netherlands. The ACM told Reuters on February 7 that it was looking at the tech giant’s changes to decide if it now complies with the rules. Later on the same day, the regulator fined Apple another $5.7 million.
According to a new report from Reuters, Apple has sent a letter to the ACM saying it thinks it has fulfilled its requirements. The publication reports that the letter, dated February 28, claims that the tech giant’s proposed changes require only a “minor technical change” on the part of developers.
That technical change refers to Apple’s requirement that a new app is submitted by developers rather than allowing them to modify existing apps for third-party payments. Reuters previously reported that the ACM rejected the tech company’s changes “as putting an unreasonable burden on software developers and not amounting to compliance.”
The ACM has yet to release a statement regarding Apple’s claims.
Recently, the European Union’s head of digital policy, EVP Margrethe Vestager said that the Cupertino tech giant is choosing to pay weekly fines of $5.7 million instead of complying with the Dutch antitrust order to “circumvent the rules.” Vestager went on to say that this could be how all Big Tech companies will respond to antitrust rules.
