Apple’s situation in Europe has been around for some time much less comfortable than we understand we would like in Cupertino. It is true that the European institutions are not very fast when it comes to implementing new regulations, but for some time now it seems that they have focused on the technology sector, and if we look at some of the latest measures, in many cases Apple is among the most affected technology companies.

Let’s take a quick look at what I’m saying. slightly less than two months ago The long awaited list porter, in the context of the Digital Markets Act, a list in which Apple is present with the App Store, iOS and Safari, in addition to having an open investigation for iMessage and iPadOS. We also participated last September the arrival of the USB-C port on the iPhone 15, a change that also has its origins in European regulations that impose a uniform connector for devices. And it is also known from their own statements that those from Cupertino are not particularly friends with them either right to rectification nor, more recently, from battery regulations interchangeablewhich he disputed last August.

Now if there is any type of regulation that worries Cupertino, which is increasingly aimed at a larger part of the market, then it is the one that includes all those they question. the current business model of app distribution and payment through them on iOS. It seems unbelievable that the first generation iPhone didn’t even have an app store and that the future for them was in web apps. Today, the business of commissions for app purchases and in-app purchases (and subscriptions) is more than a juicy business for the company… but it aims to stop being so, or at least not be so lucrative.

The Netherlands made Christmas 2021 bitter to Apple because on Christmas Day that year the company faced a demand from the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority to allow third-party payment methods in dating service apps. A deposit that had a specific date as well as a financial penalty if not complied with. And we will never know if it was impossible for the technology company to fulfill it, or if it wanted to put the regulator to the test, but the fact is that (now outside the original deadline) it finally had to back down, plus pay a fine of 50 million euros, half of 2022.

At the time, we thought it was over, but now we’re finding out that’s not the case because, as Bloomberg reports (behind a paywall), the Dutch regulator says that charges imposed by Apple violate antitrust laws. Specifically, this time he focuses on their amount, the famous 30%. In this respect, the offer of a 3% reduction (from 30% to 27%) was deemed insufficient, according to a confidential court document accessed by the media.

It therefore seems likely that at some point the regulator will require establishment of lower commissions as well as greater transparency and fairness in their application. And while it’s limited to the Netherlands at first, it seems quite likely that if successful it will soon begin to spread to the rest of the common European space.