A Dutch court has upheld a decision by the country’s antitrust regulator, confirming that Apple abused its dominant position by restricting how dating apps operate on its App Store.
In a verdict issued on Monday, the Rotterdam District Court sided with the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), which had found that Apple imposed unfair conditions on dating app developers.
These included forcing them to use Apple’s in-house payment system, banning them from linking to alternative payment methods, and charging commissions of up to 30 per cent, 15 per cent for smaller developers.
The court ruling effectively supports ACM’s 2021 enforcement order, which included a penalty for non-compliance. At the time, Apple was fined €50 million ($58 million) for failing to make the required changes to its App Store policies.
Apple said it disagreed with the decision and plans to challenge it.
“This ruling undermines the technology and tools we’ve created to benefit developers and protect users’ privacy and security, and we plan to appeal,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
The case is part of broader scrutiny Apple is facing across Europe over its control of the App Store and compliance with EU competition laws.
