- Apple charges 15-30% commission for App Store payments
- The company has denied wrongdoing in the country, but the EU has just rejected its allegations.
- EU Court of Justice says Netherlands-specific App Store is sufficient reason
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Dutch courts have jurisdiction over a case against Apple’s App Store, brought by two Dutch foundations.
They claim that App Store commissions are excessive and anti-competitive, harming Dutch users, including consumers and developers.
Apple had previously argued that the Netherlands did not have jurisdiction because the damage did not occur in the Netherlands. However, the European court has now rejected this argument.
Apple could have problems with its App Store in the Netherlands
“The Dutch courts have jurisdiction to hear a representative action concerning the alleged anti-competitive behavior of Apple in relation to its App Store intended for the Dutch market,” noted the European Court.
The Court of Justice said that the Dutch App Store is specifically designed for the Dutch market, uses Dutch and offers applications tailored to Dutch users – which therefore means that it would be acceptable for the Dutch courts to pursue the case.
Apple also decides its commission of 15% or 30% according to its own scale. The company actively discourages third-party payments and app subscriptions, forcing developers to sacrifice larger percentages of their revenue through commissions, driving up prices for consumers.
“In order to determine the place where the damage occurred, the virtual space constituted by the App Store NL, in which the purchases were made, corresponds to the entire territory of this State,” explains the note.
Apple said Bloomberg (via Verdict) that EU regulators “continue to change the objectives of DMA compliance, making it impossible to comply with their governing decision.” Apple devotes “hundreds of thousands of hours” to respond to changing European regulations.
The Cupertino giant still has time to submit a compliance proposal, so the next steps still need to take place.
TechRadar Pro asked Apple for its reaction to the decision – the company did not immediately respond.
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