Dutch competition watchdog Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has rejected objections by Apple against fines of 50 million euros (about US$53 million) it gave the company over failure to comply with orders to limit the dominant position of the Apple App Store, reports Reuters.
The ACM said Apple has complied with most of its demands to open its App Store to alternative forms of payment for dating apps in the Netherlands, but had not met an undisclosed third element of the conditions related to the fines, the article adds.
“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 a 2021 interview. “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.
