I would not like to be the person who brings the subpoenas to the Apple offices, as I have the feeling that such a person (well, people actually, but you understand me) should be greeted with a coldness that would make people pale with envy. poles of the planet. And it is that for some time now, some policies of those in Cupertino are under the microscope of regulators, and complaints by third parties have served to further intensify this tour de force which Apple has been facing for some time now as a result of its policies in relation to the App Store.
As it is well known, Apple receives a commission for each purchase made through its app store, and this is limited not only to the apps sold, but also to those that provide access to paid subscription services. A long-standing claim by developers is to be able to include, in their apps, links to means of payment other than the Cupertino in-app shopping platform, but they refuse to do so from the outset.
These policies are the ones that have led to a trial of the most notorious in recent times, the confrontation between Apple and Epic Games, which has become one of the most visible heads in the fight for those of Cupertino to change their policies of the App Store, allowing apps to include means of payment that do not go through its platform. A legal fight in which, at least for the moment, the creators of Fornite are winning.
And now, with that sea in the background, we have learned from The Verge that the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, after several years of investigation, has decided force Apple to allow iOS dating apps to link to external payment methods, that is, without going through the company’s payment platform, which, in this way, will lose that juicy 30% that it receives so far for each renewal of subscriptions to these services.
Some app providers depend on Apple’s App Store, and Apple takes advantage of that dependency«Writes Martijn Snoep, chairman of the regulator’s board. “TOpple has special responsibilities due to its dominant position. That’s why Apple should also take the interests of app providers seriously and set reasonable terms.. »
And why only dating services? Because although the regulator was already studying this problem before, it decided to focus on dating apps after receiving a complaint from Match Group, which owns services such as Tinder, Match.com and OkCupid. However, this decision sets an important precedent, at least in the Netherlands, so it can be understood that similar pronouncements will not be long delayed for other types of services.
The decision, in addition, does not give Apple much margin. Technology will have to allow these alternative means of payment in dating apps from January 15 or else you will face a fine with an amount of five million euros per week of default, which will have a limit of 50 million euros.
Apple, of course, disagrees and has already communicated its intention to file an appeal. In statements to The Verge by Marni Goldberg, company spokesperson, he has denied that they have a dominant position in the software distribution market in the Netherlands, he has valued the investments made by the technology company to offer the platform, and appeals to the right to apply to its users a fee for all the services and technologies that Apple provides them.
The appeal is the most logical response by Apple, and may serve to delay the entry into force of this decision by the regulator. However, more and more regulators around the world are seriously questioning the model applied by Apple in its app store, so every day it is more likely that they are more or less, but this model has its days numbered.
