Dutch Regulator Challenges Apple over Dating App Fees

The Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets is in a dispute with Apple over the commission fees placed on dating apps in the country.

Reuters explained that the Dutch consumer watchdog, known as the ACM, has been involved in legal disputes with Apple over app store policies that violate EU antitrust regulations. This includes a €50 million fine placed on Apple in 2021, which the tech company is appealing before a court in Rotterdam

While Apple has changed its policies to try and comply with the ACM’s complaints, the issue of dating app commissions still remains.

“Apple … harms dating app providers by charging them an additional, and inexplicably higher, fee for the same services” it does other types of app developers, the watchdog explained in a recent document.

Reuters notes that this case is limited to dating apps in the Netherlands, but that the results of these ongoing disputes could have wider international implications.

The wider context of this issue is that app developers are pushing back against the fees levied by the two major app stores. For example, Match Group and Google reached a settlement recently regarding Google Play’s billing system.

The settlement means that Match Group will now be able to offer its own billing system alongside the Google Play system, ultimately impacting the commissions that Google would usually collect from in-app purchases. 

Find out more about the ACM’s ongoing dispute with Apple here.