Diederik Schrijvershof was interviewed by Global Competition Review (GCR) about the fine imposed on Apple by the Dutch competition authority (ACM) for abuse of its dominant position.
The Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets said in a statement yesterday that it has issued Apple with a fifth non-compliance fine in as many weeks because the company has not yet submitted any proposals that demonstrate it will allow dating applications on its App Store to use alternative payment methods for in-app acquisitions. Although the agency has “clearly explained” to Apple how it can comply with its requirements, the company’s “so-called solutions” continue to create too many barriers for dating-app providers that wish to use their own payment systems, the watchdog said.
The Dutch authority can issue Apple another €5 million fine for each week that it fails to comply with its order, capped at a maximum of €50 million. The company’s total penalty so far is €25 million.
GCR asked Diederik Schrijvershof how long he expects Apple to hold its course:
“Diederik Schrijvershof, a partner at Maverick Advocaten in Amsterdam, said it's likely that Apple will continue on its current path until the fine cap is reached, as changing its policy in the Netherlands would impact its business in other jurisdictions.
Companies outside the Netherlands that claim to be affected by the practices targetted by the ACM could consider filing complaints with their relevant competition authorities and ask them to come to the same conclusion as the Dutch enforcer were Apple to change its policy in the Netherlands, he noted.”
If the cap of €50 million has been reached, the ACM then has the power to issue another order to impose periodic penalty payments. So the end of this dispute is not yet to be expected.
The full article can be read here.
