Dutch regulators reject Apple's 3rd-party app payment proposal

The Netherlands consumer watchdog has rejected Apple's proposed App Store changes to allow dating app developers to use third-party payment systems.

According to the Coalition for App Fairness, Apple's latest proposal for dating-app providers deemed insufficient by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) order.

"Apple's latest proposal to comply with the Dutch ACM order, which requires the company to allow dating app developers to select the in-app or out-of-the-app payment solution of their choice for the apps they offer in the Dutch Store Front of the App Store, has once again been rejected," the coalition said in a statement late on Monday.

The Dutch regulator has already charged Apple millions in fines and the tech giant could face further penalties.

Apple's proposal, which came 10 weeks after it was required to pay 50 million euros in penalty fines, was rejected because it imposed unnecessary requirements creating friction with the aim to discourage dating app developers from taking advantage of the ACM order.

"Apple's refusal to comply with the Netherlands' and EU competition law follows a global pattern of the company continuing to deprive app developers of equal and fair treatment on the App Store," said Coalition for App Fairness executive director, Rick VanMeter.

As competition authorities, in Europe and across the globe, take critical steps toward creating a fairer and free app ecosystem, "Apple continues to dig in its heels to protect its monopoly power at all costs".

Apple, which submitted its latest proposal on March 27, said that dating app developers could use either a third-party payment system or Apple's but not both.

Also, developers would have to warn users they were about to interact with a system that Apple didn't control, it added.

--IANS

na/dpb