The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Apple $55 million for failing to comply with its demands to allow dating apps to use alternate payments formats. If it further fails to comply with its order, it may force another periodic penalty payment with possibly higher penalties this time.
“Apple has to pay a 10th penalty payment, which means that they have to pay a penalty of $55 million,” the Dutch regulator said in a statement. If ACM decides that Apple does not meet the requirements, it may impose another order subject to periodic penalty payments to force the company to comply with the order. On iPhones, dating apps can only be offered via the App Store, making them highly dependent on Apple. Dating-app providers thus have to accept Apple’s conditions.