Apple fined €1 million in France over abusive App Store practices

Apple has been fined €1 million ($1.06 million) by the Paris Commercial Court on Monday for imposing abusive commercial clauses on app developers in France using its App Store, as reported by Reuters.

The court ruling doesn’t oblige Apple to make changes to its App Store, as the company will already be required to do so by the European Union’s upcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Following the announcement, a spokesperson for Apple said that they would review the ruling and that the company believes “in vibrant and competitive markets where innovation can flourish.“

“Through the App Store, we’ve helped French developers of all sizes share their passion and creativity with users around the world while creating a secure and trusted place for customers,” the spokesperson said.

Although the amount of the fine is nothing compared to the $2,105 trillion market value of the iPhone-maker, it is another indication of the legal challenges the company is facing for its App Store practices.

While Apple currently doesn’t allow alternative app stores and sideloading on its iOS ecosystem, it has until March 2024 to do so in order to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, and according to Bloomberg’s tech reporter Mark Gurman, it has already started working on it.

Earlier this year, Apple received its €5M fine for the tenth time by The Dutch Consumers and Markets Authority (ACM) for not allowing Dutch dating apps to use alternative payment systems. In June, the authorities announced that the company agreed to allow dating apps to offer third party payment options.