Apple racks up more fines in Dutch fight over dating-app payments

Apple Inc. was fined an extra 5 million euros ($5.6 million) Dutch antitrust regulators over an order to open up app payments for dating services.
Apple’s new terms for payments for dating apps are “unreasonable and create an additional barrier,” the Authority for Consumers & Markets said on Monday. The iphone maker “still does not meet the requirements” of the antitrust authority, the ACM said.
This is the fourth penalty payment Apple has received from Dutch regulators following a December order for it to open up payment options for dating app providers in the Netherlands. The latest penalty brings the running total for fines to 20 million euros out of a potential maximum amount of 50 million euros.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bowing to the regulator’s pressure, Apple on Jan. 15 announced its first ever move to allow outside payments within App Store apps. Apple usually requires developers to use its own payment system, which helps it enforce a commission for apps on its platform.
That tight control over app payments has attracted lawsuits and antitrust scrutiny, often focusing on the Apple’s refusal to allow developers steer users to other payment methods.