Apple’s App Store has at last agreed to go Dutch for dating

App Store awards 2021

Apple has once again tweaked the arrangement it is offering dating apps in the Netherlands following a judgement from the  Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), and while the company says it will appeal we can see how willing the company is to take negotiation to the wire.

What Apple said

In a developer note, the company announced that it has held “productive conversations” with the ACM, and that while it will appeal and doesn’t think the requirements are good for consumers, it has tweaked the deal to be more compliant.

“We don’t believe some of these changes are in the best interests of our users’ privacy or data security. Because Apple is committed to constructive engagement with regulators, we’re making the additional changes at the ACM’s request. As we’ve previously said, we disagree with the ACM’s original order and are appealing it,” the company says.

Meanwhile, failing to comply has cost the company in the region of €50 million so far, proving the extent to which Apple will protect its App Store business. Though the company is likely simply working to buy time to delay an inevitable compromise while it puts in place alternative provisions to secure the core user experience.

Apple’s stats in handy chart form

What the ACM said

The ACM responded (per Reuters):

“Apple has changed its unfair conditions, and will now allow different methods of payment in Dutch dating apps. (…) Until recently, customers of dating apps had only been able to pay using the payment method that Apple imposed. In ACM’s opinion, Apple abused its dominant position with those practices. From now on, dating-app providers are able to let their customers pay in different ways. ACM forced these changes by imposing an order subject to periodic penalty payments. In the end, the sum of all penalty payments totaled 50 million euros.”

[Also read: UK CMA slams Google, Apple for control of mobile internet]

So, what is Apple doing?

The note tells us that

• Developers of dating apps in the Netherlands can use the StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement, the StoreKit External Purchase Link Entitlement, or both entitlements.
• Apple has changed the user interface requirements for developers who choose to use either or both of the entitlements.
• It has also adjusted the payment processing provider criteria for developers who wish to use either entitlement.

NB: That means they can offer an alternative payment method, use Apple’s payment method, or offer both. The user interface is clearer and the wording used less prohibitive.

The 3 percent commission discount also applies to in-app purchases that qualify for a lower commission rate, such as App Store Small Business Program developers or subscription services after one year of paid service, which both already qualify for a 15% commission.

What next?

I imagine the App Store story will run for a while.

While Apple will want to protect its business, it will also seek to protect the future of that business. That means compromises will eventually be reached as the company seeks to do so.

Ultimately, Apple must surely be searching for some way to continue to offer its core, private and curated store model for those users who choose privacy, while introducing some system to enable a wider marketplace that does not also threaten platform privacy, security, or reliability.

In the meantime, Apple will be playing it relatively cool as it awaits the full extent of judgements made against it, after which it will (because it’s what anyone would do) seek to build a profitable opportunity out of the space left within which it can work, while also seeking to coalesce around its values.

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