The Dutch antitrust watchdog Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) fined Apple 5 million euros, or $5.7 million, for the fifth consecutive week on Monday over access to non-Apple payment methods for subscriptions to dating apps.
ACM says the tech giant is abusing its dominant market position by failing to allow application makers in the Netherlands to use other payment methods for dating apps accessible through the App Store, according to Reuters.
“We have clearly explained to Apple how they can comply,” it said in a statement, according to Reuters. “So far, however, they have refused to put forward any serious proposals.”
Apple has said it complied with the ruling by allowing the dating app makers to submit a new app with alternative payment methods enabled, Apple said in a statement. However, ACM has reportedly rejected the move as it put the burden on the app creators rather than the tech giant.
Apple said it still will charge a 27 percent commission on any in-app payments it does not process, according to Reuters.
MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, if a developer wanted to include non-Apple payment methods in their app, a new app build and submission would be required. There’s nothing “burdensome” about it.
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Washington’s Farewell Address, September 19, 1796
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This highlights some of the problems with the “unbundle the App Store” proponents’ arguments.
Apple is saying, okay, add your preferred payment system. But now they’re upset, and waiting for Apple to implement it “the Apple way”. Well, Apple already gave us the Apple way. They want something other than that, but they can’t expect it to work precisely the way we’d imagined. (The way it might be if they dictated to Apple how their product should work) It can’t simultaneously be perfectly ‘Apple’ and everything what the Apple critics hoped it would be.
There once was an Apple so fine
That it got fined all the time
The fines were so big
The pipeline’s 10 gig
All AC could do was whine
I don’t get why Apple is requiring completely separate app, they could just as easily add a new API for apps to query on whether they’re allowed to present alternative payment methods.
But no… Apple is trying to be maliciously compliant by making things as difficult as possible hoping that they’ll be accepted as a viable solution when they clearly know that it isn’t what the intention of the regulation is for.
No, apps should not be required to release a completely separate app listing on the App Store, and there’s absolutely no reason it can’t be the same binary across all of the App Store regions.
The Dutch politicians are trying to force Apple to allow Apps to direct people onto the Internet/elsewhere. I’m sure nothing will go wrong for those but as long as people like you get the sensation of ‘getting Apple’ really who cares about those users. Anyway, the App has materially changed beyond what Apple has ever allowed. So they can make the changes, beta test it, replace the old App. Now I know someone like you will say that’s just unbelievable, that’s never done get that Apple! except but back on planet logic and sanity it is actually done. Make the changes, beta test it, put the new App up/take the old one down, when users open the app it auto downloads the new app just like an update, now they can use your own payments system.
For those Apps that use the same check out payment within the store they are selling their wares, they need to do nothing.
stop selling phones in the EU and see what choices they have afterward.