Apple may be done with its highly publicized lawsuit with Epic Games, but it isn't out of the woods yet. A separate investigation into the dealings of its App Store has found its practices to be anti-competitive, with the company ordered to make changes to the in-app purchasing system.
As reported by gamesindustry.biz, a Dutch antitrust authority has just concluded its investigation into the tech giant. The Netherlands' Authority for Consumers and Markets started looking into the company in 2019, although this time it was due to a complaint from the owners of dating app Tinder, rather than the Fortnite creator. Much like the Epic case, however, it is not good news for Apple.
Tinder owner Match Group made complaints similar to Epic's, stating that Apple's requirement that all software users must use its own in-app payment system hindered communication with customers.
It is not clear exactly what changes Apple has been told it must make, nor what penalties there will be for non-compliance in the region. This is likely due to the fact that Apple is blocking the release of court documents on the investigation, and is currently asking Rotterdam District Court for an injunction on the matter. None of the companies and organizations involved in the case have commented, since it is still ongoing with Apple's legal challenge.
Whatever consequences there are in this case, we're not likely to see any change immediately. Despite the Apple vs. Epic case receiving a ruling, Epic is still having its developer account requests blocked by Apple, which will likely continue until the legal appeals process has been exhausted. This could take as long as five years.
While Epic did "win" in the sense that Apple was told it must allow third-party payout options, the developer was still instructed to pay around $6 million to Apple as part of the ruling. The event that kicked it all off in the first place - Apple booting Epic from the App Store - was also ruled to be a valid move.