Dutch authorities nearing a draft decision involving Apple investigation

Dutch competition authorities are nearing a draft decision in a years-long investigation into Apple Inc over rules requiring software developers to use its in-app payment system, according to Reuters.

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has notified some of the developers in the case, the article adds. In 2019 the agency said it would iinvestigate whether Apple abuses the position it’s attained with its App Store. 

The ACM said it’s doing this following indications that it has received from other app providers over the course of its market study into app stores. 

“To a large degree, app providers depend on Apple and Google for offering apps to users,” Henk Don, member of the Board of ACM, said. “In the market study, ACM has received indications from app providers, which seem to indicate that Apple abuses its position in the App Store. That is why ACM sees sufficient reason for launching a follow-up investigation, on the basis of competition law.”

He added that the ACM expects Apple (and Google, by the way) to exhibit fair and transparent behavior. At the time, Don said ACM would investigate, among other aspects, whether Apple acted in violation of the prohibition of abuse of dominance, for example, by giving preferential treatment to its own apps