Another 5 million euro transfer will have to go from the Cupertino accounts to the Dutch authorities. Proceeds at the pace of a fine per week the dispute that started in October between the ACM, the Dutch antitrust, and Apple, which has not yet aligned itself with the government provisions of mid-January and for this reason is accumulating a book of sanctions that is starting to look like a notepad.
The Authority had recognized a abuse of a dominant position by Apple with regard to dating or dating apps (such as Tinder, so to speak), establishing that if Cupertino did not open to payments outside the official channels, weekly penalties would be issued until the alignment of Apple, which instead received a folder also the Saint Valentine’s day.
The first fine came on January 15, the day by which Apple should have taken steps to avoid “losing” 5 million euros a week, and to date, over a month later, the situation is unchanged. “We clearly explained to Apple what it should have done to align with the decision – said an ACM man – but so far no serious proposals have been received “. Apple has entrenched itself in silence after yesterday’s sanction.
Previously from Cupertino they had made it known that they would reduce to 27% (therefore by just 3%) the current 30% commission for those who would have made the money pass outside the official channels. In fact, a way to check the position of the ACM, since the economic contradiction of saving 3% to bear the costs and commissions of the payment channels that do not pass through Apple is evident. But the Dutch Authority responded in kind, rejecting a solution that provided for “unreasonable burden on developers”.
