Apple fined another $8.5m by Dutch authorities as it faces reform delay accusations

  • 15/02/2022
A woman using a mobile phone against the Apple logo
"Every year of delay is another US$25 billion in revenue." Photo credit: Getty Images

Apple has copped yet another five million euro fine (NZ$8.5 million) from Dutch authorities as it faces accusations of delaying the reform of its app store.

The tech giants are being fined millions of dollars every week by an antitrust watchdog in the Netherlands after failing to allow dating app makers to use non-Apple payment methods.

The Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) told Reuters the Cupertino-based company's strategy was to delay reform as much as possible because of the financial benefits.

CAF, which represents Tinder, said it was about figuring out how little reform antitrust officials would accept.

"Every year of delay is another US$25 billion in revenue. Wouldn't you spend a couple of million on lawyers if you can go on for another couple of years?" CAF representative Damien Geradin said.

The ACM has previously said it wasn't getting enough information from Apple to ensure it was complying with its order on opening up payment methods, saying it was "disappointed in Apple's behaviours and actions".

The "revised conditions that Apple has imposed on dating-app providers are unreasonable, and create an unnecessary barrier", it said.

That comes despite the iPhone manufacturer saying it has complied with the order.

On February 3, Apple provided information on how dating app manufacturers could use alternative systems, but noted that it would still charge 27 percent commission on payments it didn't process.

Meanwhile Apple has registered three new models of computers in the Eurasian regulatory database.

According to reports, one of the new models is a laptop and the other two are desktops. It's not known yet whether this includes the much-rumoured iMac Pro or an updated Mac Mini. 

It's widely expected the company will have its first major release event of the year on March 8, US time, with a new iPad Air and iPhone SE expected to be unveiled.