Dutch court confirms Apple abused dominant position for dating apps

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, or ACM, said on Monday that a Dutch court confirmed in its ruling that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) abused its dominant position by imposing unreasonable conditions on dating app providers in the App Store.

The competition regulator said that the District Court of Rotterdam ruled that ACM was right to establish that Apple abused its dominant position because dating app providers were restricted in their freedom of choice.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.

Apple told Reuters that it is planning to appeal.

“This ruling undermines the technology and tools we’ve created to benefit developers and protect users’ privacy and security, and we plan to appeal,” a company spokesperson told the news agency.

Dating app providers had to use Apple’s payment system, were not allowed to refer to payment options outside the app, and had to pay to Apple a high commission (of 30% or 15% for smaller providers). Most providers of other apps were not affected by these conditions, the consumer watchdog noted.

The ACM noted that in August 2021, it ruled that Apple imposed unreasonable conditions on dating app providers and forced Apple to adjust these conditions.

At Apple’s request, a previous judge suspended the adjustment of the commission obligation, but upheld the rest. The District Court of Rotterdam now confirms almost all of ACM’s decision. The suspension is now lifted and Apple has to adjust the commission obligation, according to the agency.

The ACM added that If Apple does not do so within six weeks, the company risks a new penalty payment of €5M per week, with a maximum of €50M.

The Dutch regulator noted that since Apple did not adjust the conditions regarding payment on time, the company has already been required to pay penalties totalling €50M. The court ruled that Apple will not be refunded this amount. Apple can still file an appeal against this ruling.