Apple Makes Further Adjustments to Dating App Rules to Satisfy Dutch Regulatory Requirements

[AppliedMicro]

100% minus 30% is… 70%. They’ll be fine.

They'd be fine without the European market.

But losing even 20% of their revenue / earnings due to European regulation...
70% + 0.80 * 30 = 94% is still better than 70%.
That's why they won't be going anywhere.

It's all about market power and money.
That's why Apple is so vehemently opposing is.

But they'll lose even more of both when they leave Europe.
And that is why they'll stay (even when non-Apple IAP purchases or sideloading is mandated)

Just as they haven't left China or Russia due to regulatory pressure.

 

[cyanite]

🤣. . . . . . 🤣🤣🤣 . . 🤣
🤣. . . . . . 🤣. . 🤣. . 🤣
🤣. . . . . . 🤣. . 🤣. . 🤣
🤣🤣🤣 . . 🤣🤣🤣. . 🤣🤣🤣

He believed Apple’s App Store was safe. Then a fake app stole his life savings in bitcoin.

Experts say it's easy for scammers to circumvent Apple's rules, even though the company bills its App Store as "the world's most trusted marketplace for apps," where every submission is scanned and reviewed, ensuring they are safe, secure and useful.

www.seattletimes.com

Apple needs to act against fake app-privacy promises

App developers continue to undermine user privacy despite promising not to do so. Apple needs to identify those who do.

www.computerworld.com

Apple’s $64 billion-a-year App Store isn’t catching the most egregious scams

The App Store has a scam problem

www.theverge.com

Former Apple engineer says the button on iPhones asking apps not to track you is a 'dud' that gives users a 'false sense of privacy'

The iPhone feature allowing users to "ask app not to track" is sometimes "useless" in stopping third parties from collecting your data, a study found.

www.businessinsider.com

Developer reveals how fake reviews and ratings play a major role in App Store scam apps - 9to5Mac

Over the last few weeks, developer Kosta Eleftheriou has been sharing details on how scam apps game Apple’s App Store,...

9to5mac.com

Developer Highlights How Fake Apps Scam Users Via Apple's In-App Purchasing System

Apple hosts millions of apps on the App Store, calling the platform a "safe and trusted" place to discover apps. While mainly true, Apple has...

www.macrumors.com

Bad Apple: App Store Rife with Fraud, Fleeceware

Malicious apps make up 2 percent of top grossing apps in Apple App Store.

threatpost.com

Literally none of your examples have anything to do with transactional safety.

 

[gnipgnop]

No, because they’ve got a specific outcome they’re looking for and this isn’t it. Unfortunately for them, they don’t have the authority to ask for the specific outcome they want as that’s outside their jurisdiction. All they can do is continue to say “This isn’t good enough”.

In other words, it's a system that is designed to rack up huge fines while constantly moving the goalposts.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Literally none of your examples have anything to do with transactional safety.

While the purchasing transactions may be very safe, the App Store obviously still regularly fails to protect its customers safety and privacy.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Apple threatened both models by putting the customer in control and the business and political connections pushed back. That’s the real story here.

This is why Netflix removed themselves from the subscription feature IN iOS (they just recently added themselves back in). Apple’s model makes it FAR too easy to cancel a subscription right after signing up for one, thus ensuring that the user will ONLY use it for a month and never forget to disable the renew. And, even if they DO forget to disable it the way to do so is VERY straightforward. One tap, and a user doesn’t even have to speak to a rep.

 

[falainber]

Developers have choice. iOS is just one marketplace. Android is another. So there is no true forcing. Your statement would be like saying "I should be able to buy Walmart's products from Walgreens shelves!"

Nonsense. People cross shop Walmart and Walgreens. People can't afford (nor does it make any sense) to have two phones. So, app developers can't reach customers who happen to own iPhones.

 

[AppliedMicro]

This is why Netflix removed themselves from the subscription feature IN iOS

Lots of people have cancelled Netflix subscriptions.
There's even websites explaining the cancellation process that you can find with a simple Google search.
It does not seem particularly complicated.

Rather than brand Netflix as underhanded for making cancellations difficult, I think the "why" is really simple:
They weren't willing to pay Apple commission on iOS in-app subscriptions.

 

[sorgo †]

The EU should just force them to add a Red Light District Mode for escort hiring.

 

[hiloyt]

And Apple still wants its 15% / 30% (less 3%) cut for literally doing nothing. When will I be able to distribute apps outside the App Store?

What is a beautiful world of yours where hosting, payments, support (for example dealing with refunds) and a lot of other things are free? Let me know.

Why people are so blind to say, that Apple doing nothing for devs? You will be able to say this only when sideloaded stores will be allowed, together with non-Apple payments and the dev's support. But how long we will need to wait until these 3rd parties stores would like to have some cash for their services (because payment providers already taking %)?

 

[Reason077]

I hope this meets the ACM regulator’s order pertaining to dating apps on the App Store in the Netherlands.

The fact that Apple are only offering a 3% discount suggests they’re not at all serious about complying.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

They'd be fine without the European market.

But losing even 20% of their revenue / earnings due to European regulation...
70% + 0.80 * 30 = 94% is still better than 70%.

You had it right at first, they’d be fine without the European market. It’s not like sales would go to zero, EU citizens would just buy hardware through the gray market and set up store accounts outside the EU.

But they'll lose even more of both when they leave Europe.
And that is why they'll stay (even when non-Apple IAP purchases or sideloading is mandated)

They’ll lose both IN EUROPE. They won’t lose more (and, as above, will continue to make some money from European citizens anyway).

Just as they haven't left China or Russia due to regulatory pressure.

China and Russia merely want to control the data that their citizens have access to. They’re not attempting to alter the business model, and they don’t care to.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Nonsense. People cross shop Walmart and Walgreens. People can't afford (nor does it make any sense) to have two phones. So, app developers can't reach customers who happen to own iPhones.

But, they can reach, in the EU, the FAR GREATER market of Android phones. Why would they want to expend the effort going after a market that’s like 20% on a good year when they could be raking it in from the 80% market!?

 

[Sophisticatednut]

In other words, it's a system that is designed to rack up huge fines while constantly moving the goalposts.

No, it’s a system designed to encourage independent thoughts. Instead of regulatory mandates micromanaging you.

But if you want to play games, then they will micromanage you as harshly as possible. EU doesn’t want to like the US and micromanage everything when they can do it themselves.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

You had it right at first, they’d be fine without the European market. It’s not like sales would go to zero, EU citizens would just buy hardware through the gray market and set up store accounts outside the EU.


They’ll lose both IN EUROPE. They won’t lose more (and, as above, will continue to make some money from European citizens anyway).

And Apple would always make more money selling it directly than abandoning the market. EU citizens aren’t willing to buy iPhones on the grey market and pay 25%VAT and Import duties. Customers will just move to other brands and android will take 99% of the market and Apple will go from 30% to 1% marier

China and Russia merely want to control the data that their citizens have access to. They’re not attempting to alter the business model, and they don’t care to.

So you’re saying Apple are willing to sacrifice privacy before profitability? And are willing to sell their user data to dictatorships to earn money just as how google does it but less honest about it.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Literally none of your examples have anything to do with transactional safety.

Transactional safety is bigger in EUROPE already as a baseline. So we have equivalent security as a standard to Apple.

So why do you keep talking about unrealistic fear mongering of a reality we don’t live in?

 

[GMShadow]

In other words, it's a system that is designed to rack up huge fines while constantly moving the goalposts.

Correct. This is the European strategy - leech off America to fund their largesse.

 

[ppj845]

People at those companies made contributions to make them focus on it. Politicians and bureaucrats are very cheap dates.

It’s interesting how people trust companies more than the government, when the government is supposedly selected by the people. I thought the west is “democracy”?

 

[visualseed]

I find it ironic. These same groups of politicians and regulators are the ones that allowed each of these “gatekeeper” companies to become what they are.

Facebook never should have been allowed to buy out WhatsApp or Instagram. Google, Apple, Microsoft should not have been able to buy up all the tech startups they have bought out over the years. Instead the government and regulatory groups continued to allow such mergers and buy outs until there are only a few big fish in a small pond (hello Mother Earth and your billions upon billions of carbon based life forms with some sort of tech). I personally hope (excluding Facepuke and Epic Failure) companies take the crap these jelly politicians give them and shove it right back up their over pompous backsides.
There is so much more these groups could be doing that would have a real positive effect on the human race in 5 to 10 years, then how you can pay for your dating app.

If you stop companies from buying other companies then you pretty much disincentivize investors from giving them capital in their startup phases. Been on both sides of the VC process and having a potential merger exit strategies with a heavyweight in the industry can mean the difference between funding and no funding. Even not being able to shop your company around for potential buyers can put the breaks on bridge funding / loans during troubled times.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Lots of people have cancelled Netflix subscriptions.
There's even websites explaining the cancellation process that you can find with a simple Google search.
It does not seem particularly complicated.

Rather than brand Netflix as underhanded for making cancellations difficult, I think the "why" is really simple:
They weren't willing to pay Apple commission on iOS in-app subscriptions.

No, it was underhanded. Netflix subscribers from the App Store cancelled the service more than subscribers who joined other ways, like through Netflix’s website. They rolled out an update that didn’t have the Apple subscriptions model for some markets and they found more retention. So, they removed the option in 2018. They brought it back recently with adding iOS games to their subscription, so I guess they ARE willing to pay it now.

All subscriptions that are through Apple are in one place in iOS, easy for users to see everything at-a-glance, without digging through their apps, and easy to cancel.

These are the same steps for every app that uses Apple’s subscriptions,
In the settings app,
Tap your name.
Tap Subscriptions.
Tap the subscription.
Tap Cancel Subscription. You might need to scroll down to find the Cancel Subscription button. If there is no Cancel button, the subscription is already canceled.

 

[boss.king]

Correct. This is the European strategy - leech off America to fund their largesse.

How? Apple chose to operate in Europe. No one is forcing them to do it. Now they have to follow the laws of that market.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

And Apple would always make more money selling it directly than abandoning the market. EU citizens aren’t willing to buy iPhones on the grey market and pay 25%VAT and Import duties. Customers will just move to other brands and android will take 99% of the market and Apple will go from 30% to 1% marier

Apple would never abandon the market, but the EU may force Apple out of the market. 30% poof! Apple will survive though. That 70% is more than enough to run a company and still pull a profit.

So you’re saying Apple are willing to sacrifice privacy before profitability? And are willing to sell their user data to dictatorships to earn money just as how google does it but less honest about it.

I’m saying Apple works under the rules of the countries they work in as long as those countries have rules that allow Apple to operate. It’s humorous that the rules in China and Russia are less restrictive than what’s proposed from the EU.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

How? Apple chose to operate in Europe. No one is forcing them to do it. Now they have to follow the laws of that market.

The EU allowed Apple to operate in the EU previously. With the regulation changes, the EU may no longer be willing to allow Apple to operate, and that’s fine.

 

[visualseed]

Apple would never abandon the market, but the EU may force Apple out of the market. 30% poof! Apple will survive though. That 70% is more than enough to run a company and still pull a profit.

I don't believe that Apple will leave the EU market over this, but the blind insistence that any company will put up with endlessly tightening regulations just to reach a specific market is absurd. No matter how large the market is. Large companies have exited large markets in the past over untenable regulations. The threshold is usually the global impact of doing business in the specific market. Example, If the cost of serving 30% of the market will impact your global revenue by more than 30%, it's actually cheaper to cut ties. Even Google seems to be doing fine not doing business in China and that is a larger potential market than the EU.

 

[boss.king]

The EU allowed Apple to operate in the EU previously. With the regulation changes, the EU may no longer be willing to allow Apple to operate, and that’s fine.

Apple is still able to operate perfectly fine, they just have to alter the way they do it a tiny bit. It's not like the EU is the first place to add or change a law that affects how companies do things.

 

[visualseed]

The EU allowed Apple to operate in the EU previously. With the regulation changes, the EU may no longer be willing to allow Apple to operate, and that’s fine.

A lot of speculation has centered around lost sales of Apple devices in the EU if Apple were to hypothetically leave the market, but they don't see that it is a two-way street and how much leverage Apple actually has. It would be devastating to EU-based developers if they could no longer distribute their apps and services to iPhone customers in the EU or the rest of the world. If you think Spotify is squealing now, just imagine if their developer account is cut off and they loose access to half the US smartphone market and ~30% of the global one. EU consumers shifting to Android phones in the EU really doesn't solve this problem and it effectively neuters their power to enforce compliance out of their market. Remember, EU regulators are not trying to just regulate their market, they are actually trying to regulate the global market by imposing the "California Effect" making compliance to EU regulations the de facto standard for other markets.