Dutch regulator will examine Apple's App Store dating app payment proposal

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The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets will be looking into Apple’s proposal for how it plans to handle dating app alternative payment options, to see if the company has sufficiently complied with the regulatory order.

In accordance with an order from the ACM to allow dating apps operating in the Netherlands to use third-party payment mechanisms, Apple said on Saturday that it would comply by providing more options to developers. The ACM now wants to determine if Apple is fully complying with the order with its announcement.

In a statement published on Monday, ACM confirms Apple has informed the regulator of policy changes for dating apps in the App Store, and that it will now “assess whether Apple meets the requirements that ACM had imposed.” Part of the assessment will involve the ACM talking to dating app providers and “other interested parties” about Apple’s changes.

ACM doesn’t state what parties it will be talking to, but the list will probably include Match, a dating app that has repeatedly complained about Apple’s App Store policies, and has even testified to the U.S. Senate about it in 2021.

Match is also a member of the Coalition for App Fairness, an organization that has campaigned for changes in the App Store, including the App Store commission.

Apple’s change in policy to comply with the order will allow developers two other options for taking payments. Along with the existing IAP system, developers could point users to a website to perform a transaction, or include a third-party payment system within the app.

Even though Apple wouldn’t process the actual transaction for the new options, it has indicated it still wants to get its usual commission.