Court Upholds Regulator's Case Against Apple Over App Store

[MacRumors]

Apple has lost a legal challenge in the Netherlands after a Dutch court ruled that the company abused its dominant market position by imposing restrictive payment terms on dating app developers (via Reuters).

The ruling was issued earlier today by the Rotterdam District Court, confirming a 2021 decision by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), which found that Apple violated European Union competition laws by forcing dating app developers to use its proprietary in-app payment system, prohibiting them from directing users to alternative payment methods, and charging commissions of up to 30% on transactions.

The court's decision means that the ACM's prior enforcement actions still stand, including a significant penalty for non-compliance. In a statement provided to Reuters following the ruling, an Apple spokesperson said the company would appeal the decision:

This ruling undermines the technology and tools we've created to benefit developers and protect users' privacy and security, and we plan to appeal.

The ACM initially ordered Apple in August 2021 to revise its policies for dating apps distributed via the Dutch App Store. Apple was told to allow developers of these apps to either integrate an alternative payment system or direct users to external payment options. When Apple failed to implement these changes in a manner the ACM deemed sufficient, the regulator imposed a series of weekly fines totaling €50 million. The case in the Netherlands is part of broader ongoing international scrutiny of Apple's App Store practices.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Court Upholds Regulator's Case Against Apple Over App Store

 

[UliBaer]

It's getting tighter and tighter...

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Apple is batting a zero, everywhere.

 

[cateye]

Apple is batting a zero, everywhere.

One wonders how long they'll keep tilting at this particular windmill. So obsessively fixated on keeping their skim, they'll end up giving away the entire value structure of the App Store through court loss after court loss.

 

[I7guy]

Good Apple. Keep appealing.

 

[con2apple]

It's truly unbelievable how many courts and legal systems have been subverted to destroy our great, innovative Apple. The App Store, which operates at cost price and has an admirable editorial team for lovable games and great apps, is being attacked from all sides.
At first, we thought it was just Apple haters in the EU. But now there are countries like South Korea, Japan, and even US states. Everywhere, they want to destroy our poor little company with illegal and crazy laws.

Cancel their Apple accounts! Block their Apple devices! Advertise these nefarious and dishonorable attacks!

MAKE APPLE GREAT AGAIN

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

It's truly unbelievable how many courts and legal systems have been subverted to destroy our great, innovative Apple. The App Store, which operates at cost price and has an admirable editorial team for lovable games and great apps, is being attacked from all sides.
At first, we thought it was just Apple haters in the EU. But now there are countries like South Korea, Japan, and even US states. Everywhere, they want to destroy our poor little company with illegal and crazy laws.

Cancel their Apple accounts! Block their Apple devices! Advertise these nefarious and dishonorable attacks!

MAKE APPLE GREAT AGAIN

I hope people who put a like on this got the satire

 

[Mousse]

Everywhere, they want to destroy our poor little company with illegal and crazy laws.

How can a law be illegal?🤔🤔🤔 The very definition of something being legal means it is based on the law. A law can be stupid. It can be immoral. I can be unfair. But a law can never be illegal.

Cancel their Apple accounts! Block their Apple devices! Advertise these nefarious and dishonorable attacks!

This thuggish behavior is the very thing the law wants to address. They are accusing Apple of abusing their power. Doing this would confirm that Apple is abusing their power.

Apple should cut their loses and give up this battle. The other side ain't budging. Apple can leave those markets and hope that the citizens get pissed off at their government. I doubt the people will stand for losing their Apple devices. The big question if Apple's resources last long enough for the citizens to vote out the guys responsible for these laws.

 

[TheColtr]

The concerning part is that either: they are so prideful they don’t see the writing on the wall, or they’re so greedy they won’t give up some revenue.

At this point is doesn’t really matter whether Apple is in the “right” or not. What matters is almost universally governments have decided Apple is too big and too powerful. I hope Apple will be proactive, but that doesn’t seem to be happening.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Good Apple. Keep appealing.

Keep appealing and keep losing is Apple's go-to these days.

 

[It’s always something]

But a law can never be illegal.

A law can be illegal if it violates a higher law, like a city ordinance that contradicts a state one, for example.

 

[It’s always something]

The concerning part is that either: they are so prideful they don’t see the writing on the wall, or they’re so greedy they won’t give up some revenue.

In this case I think it can possibly be both.

 

[macjoshua]

I really think the best approach for Apple at this point is to allow side loading. Then, to be in the App Store, developers have to abide by Apple's payment rules. If they don't want that, they can promote, deliver, and host their apps themselves.

 

[ashdelacroix]

I knew for years that Apple's greed was going to catch up with it at some point. I think Apple just wanted to get as much money as possible before the inevitable happened. They calculated that they were not "doing a Microsoft" in terms of monopoly position, but they didn't reckon on how the definition of monopoly behaviour, particularly given the growth of the online economy, was changing. I don't think they've been as cynical as Microsoft was in the 1990s, but there is more than a whiff of pure greed at Apple HQ. From the disclosures of various trials in recent years, a hardcode of Apple management didn't want to "leave money on the table" to use a quote from those internal communications, whilst good guys like Phil Schiller were more focussed on Apple's customer and developer ethos but were often overruled.

 

[platinumaqua]

Oh no, poor Apple and their precious revenue stream!

 

[DaveN]

A dominant minority position? How does that work?

 

[cicalinarrot]

It's truly unbelievable how many courts and legal systems have been subverted to destroy our great, innovative Apple. The App Store, which operates at cost price and has an admirable editorial team for lovable games and great apps, is being attacked from all sides.
At first, we thought it was just Apple haters in the EU. But now there are countries like South Korea, Japan, and even US states. Everywhere, they want to destroy our poor little company with illegal and crazy laws.

Cancel their Apple accounts! Block their Apple devices! Advertise these nefarious and dishonorable attacks!

MAKE APPLE GREAT AGAIN

It's always the mom 'n pop businesses that get hit the hardest by evil governments

 

[Mousse]

A dominant minority position? How does that work?

Ask the oligarchs, the plutocrats, the French royalty before they lost their heads.

 

[The_Gream]

Man I love how many people forget what it was like buying software back in the day. Brick and Mortar stores taking their cut, publisher taking his cut, etc and the programmers/business maybe taking home 30% of the final price.
Come into the future, where a business builds up a system to host and distribute (I understand not ever developer group needs this) software and then do a 70/30 split which is the total opposite of what it used to be. Now pretty much any Tom Dick and Harry can develop and release software.

Apple might be greedy, but so are the other guys, and in many ways they are much worse as they are willing to plan out and purposely violate their distribution contract.

Yes there is room for change at Apple, but this is just a crap show now.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Do these Courts not understand that Apple is above the law?

Do they not know who Apple is?

 

[Joe The Dragon]

I really think the best approach for Apple at this point is to allow side loading. Then, to be in the App Store, developers have to abide by Apple's payment rules. If they don't want that, they can promote, deliver, and host their apps themselves.

and no other then the developer account fee
core fess
notarization fee
review fee
store fee

 

[Joe The Dragon]

Man I love how many people forget what it was like buying software back in the day. Brick and Mortar stores taking their cut, publisher taking his cut, etc and the programmers/business maybe taking home 30% of the final price.
Come into the future, where a business builds up a system to host and distribute (I understand not ever developer group needs this) software and then do a 70/30 split which is the total opposite of what it used to be. Now pretty much any Tom Dick and Harry can develop and release software.

Apple might be greedy, but so are the other guys, and in many ways they are much worse as they are willing to plan out and purposely violate their distribution contract.

Yes there is room for change at Apple, but this is just a crap show now.

Brick and Mortar stores did not take 30% of your
cable tv sub
internet sub
wow subscription fee
video rental fees

 

[Macaholic868]

This ruling undermines the technology and tools we've created to benefit developers and protect users' privacy and security

Think of the children!!! 🤮 Enough already Apple. You’ve lost this battle and can’t use your App Store monopoly to force developers to pay you 30%. Play honest and by the rules, just like everybody else. When even the rear kissing courts here in the USA are siding against you on an issue, then you’re done.

Now I get it, protecting “shareholder value” (and don’t kid yourself, the executives pocketbooks) under the guise of “safety and security” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) requires them to appeal but at this point it’s like kicking a dead horse.

It’s clearly illegal, anti-competitive behavior and if you don’t like it, stop making and selling iPhones (which we know will never happen as long as the demand is there). So take your medicine and move on. The only thing you’re doing by holding out is increasing the size of the fines at this point.

 

[Macaholic868]

and no other then the developer account fee
core fess
notarization fee
review fee
store fee

Don’t forget the breathing air fee. The safety and integrity of the lungs must be protected, except at sites where the product is manufactured… 🤷‍♂️

 

[H2SO4]

It's truly unbelievable how many courts and legal systems have been subverted to destroy our great, innovative Apple. The App Store, which operates at cost price and has an admirable editorial team for lovable games and great apps, is being attacked from all sides.
At first, we thought it was just Apple haters in the EU. But now there are countries like South Korea, Japan, and even US states. Everywhere, they want to destroy our poor little company with illegal and crazy laws.

Cancel their Apple accounts! Block their Apple devices! Advertise these nefarious and dishonorable attacks!

MAKE APPLE GREAT AGAIN

Illegal laws?
Like what?