Apple racks up NINTH Dutch fine over App Store, submits new proposal

Apple has finally submitted new proposals for how to comply…

What you need to know

Apple has been fined for the ninth time by Dutch antitrust authorities.
It’s over Apple’s refusal to comply with new laws in the country regarding processing payments for dating apps.
Apple appears to have finally submitted a new proposal to comply.

Apple appears to have submitted a new proposal to Dutch authorities, after receiving its ninth 5 million euro fine from the country over its failure to comply with new App Store laws.

As reported by FOSS Patents, Apple has been fined 5 million euros for the ninth time and is just one fine away from the 50 million euro cap, which means it can’t be fined any further despite not complying with the issue. Apple is in trouble for not doing enough to comply with new laws in the country pertaining to how payments are processed on the iPhone and its App Store. Dating apps in the Netherlands must now be able to offer customers the option to use alternative payment methods outside of Apple’s in-app purchase system.

However, there may be a resolution in sight, as Nando Kasteleijn reports:

Mogelijk nieuwe ontwikkeling in Apple-zaak ACM: bedrijf heeft vanmorgen “nieuwe voorstellen gedaan om te voldoen aan de eisen”. Nu volgt beoordeling van de toezichthouder (ben benieuwd).

Ondertussen wel nieuwe dwangsom, totaal staat nu op €45 mln.

Bericht ACM ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aIwSesrjMx

— Nando Kasteleijn (@nandokasteleijn) March 21, 2022

The reported translation is as follows:

“Apple made new proposals this morning to comply with the ACM’s requirements. We are now going to evaluate whether those proposals are sufficient. We will also speak with various market actors. We hope to complete this analysis shortly. It is true [as the reporter apparently asked] that Apple failed to meet the ACM’s requirements as of last weekend. Therefore, the 9th penalty payment also became due. The total amount is now at 45 million euros [$49.7 million].”

There are no details with regards to how Apple has amended its offering to comply. Previously, Apple had stated that developers who wanted to take advantage of the new laws would have to offer a completely separate app for alternative payments and that Apple would still take 27% commission on these transactions.