Earlier this year, the Netherlands had ordered Apple to allow third-party dating apps to have the option of using third-party payment systems to collect fees/subscriptions from their users. Apple initially had until the 15th of January to comply, but it turns out that the company does not appear to be willing to do so.
According to a report from Reuters, it seems that Apple is still refusing to comply and has to date managed to rack up a whopping 45 million euros in fines. For those unfamiliar, for every week Apple does not give in to the court’s orders, they will have to pay 5 million euros in the form of a fine.
While 45 million euros is no small figure to sneeze at, it is possible that Apple could see this as being “worth it”. For starters, if they were to give in, it would set a precedent that could be applied in other countries. This would mean the potential loss of 15-30% from all app sales and in-app purchases, all of which would make the 45 million euro fine pale in comparison.
Take for example when Fortnite was still in the App Store, it was reported that the app generated $1.2 billion. Assuming Apple took a 30% cut, it meant that they earned $360 million from one app alone, so imagine how much they could stand to “lose” if all developers opted to use a different payment system.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, iOS and Legal. Source: reuters
