Despite Disagreeing, Apple Allows Payments From Third Parties For Dating Apps In The Netherlands

Apple is forced to allow payments from third parties for dating apps in the Netherlands. (photo: doc, picabay)

JAKARTA - The Dutch antitrust watchdog on Saturday, June 11 said Apple Inc would allow different payment methods in Dutch dating apps. This policy ended a dispute that resulted in the company being fined 50 million euros (Rp 759 billion).

The Netherlands' Authority for Consumers and Markets (AMC) said in a statement that with this concession, Apple would comply with the requirements set by regulators under the competition rules of the European Union and the Netherlands.

According to a Reuters report, the iPhone maker has long mandated the use of its in-app payment system, which charges commissions of up to 30% which some developers, such as Tinder owner Match Group Inc., say are too high.

"In the digital economy, powerful companies have a special responsibility to keep markets fair and open. Apple shies away from that responsibility, and abuses its dominant position vis--vis a dating app provider," said Martijn Snoep, chairman of the ACM board, as quoted by the newspaper. Reuters.

"We are delighted that Apple has finally brought its conditions into line with European and Dutch competition rules," he added.

ACM ruled last year that Apple's rules violated Dutch competition laws in the dating app market and required Apple to allow those developers to use third-party payment processors.

Last Friday, Apple laid out rules on how developers of dating apps offered in the Netherlands could bypass its in-app payment system.

They say dating app developers will still have to pay commissions for sales made outside of their in-app payment system, even though that would give them a slight discount.

In response to a request from Reuters, Apple representatives referred to the company's update from Friday for the dating app in the Netherlands, where it said it disagreed with ACM's original order.

The update reads, "We do not believe some of these changes are in the best interest of the privacy or security of our users' data. Because Apple is committed to engaging constructively with regulators, we are making additional changes at ACM's request. As we said earlier, we disagree with ACM's original order and appealed."