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| Apple faces Dutch fines in the fourth week |
Apple's new proposal for a dating app in the Netherlands is not enough to satisfy the country's competition regulator, which has announced an additional €5 million ($5.6 million) fine against the company.
This is the fourth week of fines imposed on the company totaling 20 million euros (about $22.6 million).
The fines are issued weekly and the Consumer and Markets Authority finds that Apple has failed to meet its requirements.
The request, announced by the Consumer and Markets Authority in late December, indicated that Apple should allow dating app developers to use an alternative to the country's built-in payment system.
The company first announced in mid-January that it intended to comply with the request. Earlier this month, she gave full details of her plans.
But the Consumer and Marketing Authority was not satisfied with the details of Apple's proposal. He said the modified terms the company imposed on dating app providers were unreasonable and created unnecessary obstacles.
The agency refused to force Apple to provide developers with separate apps for the Dutch market. He argues that this creates additional costs for developers and forces customers to download new stand-alone apps to access alternative payment systems.
The regulator also said it was not satisfied with many of Apple's other proposals. He added that the company needed to amend it to avoid further fines.
Despite efforts to comply with the requirements, the iPhone maker is still appealing the authorities' decision. The company said that introducing alternatives to payment systems reduces user experience and creates new threats to users' privacy and data security.
Apple forces developers to use its own payment system
Apple's revenue from in-app purchases of dating in the Netherlands may represent only a small portion of global acquisitions.
But the dispute is significant for an early precedent that could emerge amid a wave of international scrutiny of the company's App Store policies.
Under Apple's proposed policy, the company will take a 27% commission from dating app developers who use alternative payment systems.
Developers wishing to use an alternative payment system must provide a separate app, which is distributed through the Dutch App Store.
Apple previously failed to change its policies by the deadline set by regulators. She faces a weekly fine of 5 million euros ($5.7 million).
Regulators have criticized Apple's increasing obstacles to developers wanting to use third-party payment systems. For example, having to choose between an out-of-app payment system or another in-app payment system.
The company's App Store policies are under increased scrutiny from developers and regulators around the world.