Dutch Regulator Rejects Apple’s Objections Against Fines 

An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. (Reuters)
An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. (Reuters)
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Dutch Regulator Rejects Apple’s Objections Against Fines 

An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. (Reuters)
An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. (Reuters)

Dutch competition watchdog ACM on Monday said it had rejected objections by Apple against fines of 50 million euros ($52.9 million) it had given the company over failure to comply with regulations aimed at limiting the dominant position of Apple's App Store.

The ACM said Apple had by now complied with most of its demands to open its App Store to alternative forms of payment for dating apps in the Netherlands, but had not met an undisclosed third element of the conditions related to the fines.

The ACM in 2021 ruled that Apple violated Dutch competition laws in the dating app market and required Apple to allow developers of dating apps to use third-party payment processors.

It fined Apple 5 million euros per week, to a maximum of 50 million euros, for the time it failed to comply with these orders.

Apple has objected to these fines, saying that the regulator had incorrectly defined relevant markets and had overestimated the dominance of its position in the dating app market and the extent to which it might have abused this position.

The regulator rejected all of Apple's objections in a decision on July 13, 2023, which was published on Monday.

Apple has filed an appeal against the ruling, the ACM said.



Huawei Eyes Greater Role in Brazil Data Center Market

Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. (Reuters)
Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. (Reuters)
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Huawei Eyes Greater Role in Brazil Data Center Market

Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. (Reuters)
Huawei logo is seen during Munich Auto Show, IAA Mobility 2021 in Munich, Germany, September 8, 2021. (Reuters)

Chinese tech giant Huawei is interested in strengthening and improving its capacity as a supplier of data center solutions, it said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday, clarifying that it did not intend to invest directly in data centers.

Reuters had reported on Wednesday that Huawei was interested in Brazil's data center market but was waiting on the government to roll out a tax-break plan.

"We want the government to implement these incentives, which are good for the country, and the time has to be now," Atilio Rulli, Huawei vice president of public relations for Latin America and the Caribbean, told Reuters.

The government's plan to dole out tax breaks for tech investments in Brazil is set to be sent to Congress soon, a finance ministry adviser said last month.

Latin America's largest economy is looking to establish a foothold in the fast-growing data center industry, pulling from its ample renewable energy.

The country is already courting major investments from firms such as ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, Reuters has reported.

Huawei could provide connectivity, storage and energy for data centers, Rulli said, speaking on the sidelines of an event hosted by state development bank BNDES.

"Huawei continues to follow the incentive policy being conducted by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, and when in force, will continue to contribute reliable, scalable and sustainable solutions to accelerate the digital transformation in Brazil and Latin America," Huawei said in the statement on Thursday.