District Court of Rotterdam confirms ACM decision: Apple abused its dominant position for dating apps
Apple abused its dominant position by imposing unreasonable conditions on dating app providers in the App Store. The District Court of Rotterdam has confirmed this in a ruling today. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), therefore, was right to impose an order subject to periodic penalty payments to adjust these conditions.
The court has ruled that ACM was right to establish that Apple abused its dominant position because dating app providers were restricted in their freedom of choice. Dating app providers had to use Apple’s payment system, were not allowed to refer to payment options outside the app, and had to pay to Apple a high commission (of 30 percent, or 15 percent for smaller providers). Most providers of other apps were not affected by these conditions.
Unreasonable conditions
In August 2021, ACM established that Apple imposed unreasonable conditions on dating app providers and forced Apple to adjust these conditions. At Apple’s request, a previous judge suspended the adjustment of the commission obligation, but upheld the rest. The District Court of Rotterdam now confirms almost all of ACM’s decision. The suspension is now lifted and Apple now also has to adjust the commission obligation. If Apple does not do so within six weeks, the company risks a new penalty payment of 5 million euros per week, with a maximum of 50 million euros.
Under Dutch and European competition rules, businesses with dominant positions, such as Apple, are not allowed to set unreasonable conditions. Such abuse leads to higher prices, reduced quality, and less innovation. This is the first time that a competition authority deems such conditions by a major platform to be ’unreasonable conditions’. The court agrees with this finding.
Previous penalty payments remain intact
Since Apple did not adjust the conditions regarding payment on time, the company has already been required to pay penalties totaling 50 million euros. The court rules that Apple will not be refunded this amount. Apple can still file an appeal against this ruling.
ACM and the Digital Economy
The digital economy is an important focus for ACM. People and businesses must be protected against market power and online deception. To take action against abuses of dominant positions, ACM conducts investigations and can impose sanctions on businesses, including fines and orders subject to penalty payments. New European rules, such as the Digital Markets Act, help tackle Big Tech companies. Large companies and platforms must provide access to their platform or technology, for example.