Apple now plans to allow other methods of payment for Dutch dating apps, after intervention from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), a report from ACM said.
This will see a change to the old rules, in which customers of dating apps were only able to pay using payment methods imposed by Apple.
ACM said Apple had abused its dominant position — and now dating-app providers will let customers pay in more varieties of ways.
ACM’s judgment came with an order subject to periodic penalty payments, totaling 50 million euros.
According to Martijn Snoep, chairman of ACM, the intent was to help everyone get the full benefits of the digital economy.
“In the digital economy, powerful companies have a special responsibility to keep the market fair and open,” Snoep said in the report. “Apple avoided that responsibility, and abused its dominant position vis-à-vis dating-app providers. We are glad that Apple has finally brought its conditions in line with European and Dutch competition rules. That offers app providers more opportunities to compete. And consumers will ultimately reap the benefits, too.”
See also: Match Group Drops Restraining Order Against Google
That came after the tech giant also agreed to let the company take alternative payments, scaling back its push for control over all user data.
Google will now not be able to reject or remove Match Group apps from the Play Store for taking other payments.
And the company will take Match Group app updates providing alternatives for Google Play billing, and Google will work on “deficiencies of Google Play billing” to let Match Group apps test Google’s system alongside current pay systems.
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