The Antimonopoly Authority of the Netherlands was the first in the world to recognize Apple as a monopolist due to the payment rules of the App Store. The regulator demanded that the company change its store policy. Apple has already prepared an appeal.
This is reported by Reuters with reference to four people familiar with the issue. According to the publication, the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority (ACM) launched an investigation in 2019. It ended this September, but so far the agency has not officially published a decision — ACM plans to do this by the end of the year after the examination of lawyers.
Nevertheless, ACM has already informed Apple. According to sources, the Netherlands did not fine the company, but ordered to change the payment rules of the App Store in accordance with the law. What exactly needs to be changed in them is not specified.
Both sides declined to comment to Reuters. According to the publication, Apple filed an appeal and asked the Rotterdam District Court not to publish the decision on the case until the end of the proceedings. The hearings will be closed to the press.
Recall that Apple obliges developers to use only the App Store payment system, which charges a commission of 15-30%. At the end of August, the company announced that it could relax the rules of the store and allow developers to use emails to tell consumers about paying for in-game purchases outside of iOS. But this rule has not yet worked.
The App Store’s payment rules have been increasingly facing criticism lately. One of the most high-profile cases was Apple’s trial with Epic Games, as a result of which an American court demanded that Apple allow adding links to other payment methods to applications. Nevertheless, then the company was not recognized as a monopolist.
At the end of August, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia also demanded that Apple allow links to alternative payment methods. A few days later, it became known about the antitrust lawsuit against the company in India. The most radical measures were taken in South Korea. There, on September 15, an amendment came into force that obliges Apple (and Google) to stop banning developers from third-party payment systems.