The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (Dutch: ''Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM)'') is the competition regulator in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is a regulatory authority based in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. It is charged with competition oversight, sector-specific regulation of several sectors, and enforcement of consumer protection laws. It enforces Section 24 of the Dutch Competition Act.

Organisation

The Authority falls under the responsibility of the

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy , type = Department , logo = Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat Logo.png , logo_width = 250x250px , logo_caption = Logo of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy , image = Overzic ...

and employs around 600 persons, divided over multiple Directions e.g. Direction of Consumers, Competition, Healthcare, Transportation etc.

History

ACM was founded on 1 April 2013 through the merger of the Consumer Authority (Consumentenautoriteit, CA), the Independent Postal and Telecommunications Authority (Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit, OPTA), and the

Netherlands Competition Authority The Netherlands Competition Authority (Dutch: Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, NMa) was the competition regulator for the Netherlands. After a merger with the Consumentenautoriteit and Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit on 1 A ...

(Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, NMa).

Notable cases

In 2017 ACM imposed a fine of 41 million euros on

Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...

for abuse of its position by means of predatory pricing and related practices. In 2018 it revoked the energy licence of One Select, a sister company of the UK energy supplier, because it could no longer “comply with the requirements of its energy licence”. It approved the takeover by HeadFirst Source Group NV of Myler, a Dutch contract management and global sourcing company. It forced

VodafoneZiggo VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V. is a Dutch joint venture between Vodafone Plc and Ziggo B.V., announced in February 2016, approved by the European Commission in August 2016 and completed in December 2016. VodafoneZiggo is headquartered in Ut ...

and

KPN KPN (in full Koninklijke KPN N.V., also Royal KPN N.V.) is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company. KPN originated from a government-run postal, telegraph and telephone service and is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. History Un ...

to open up their fixed networks to third party providers after a market analysis of Wholesale Fixed Access showed that between them they dominated the market. It set new prices for water and electricity on

Bonaire Bonaire (; , ; pap, Boneiru, , almost pronounced ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west ( leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC i ...

from 1 April 2018. In 2020, ACM fined tobacco makers

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...

, Philip Morris,

Japan Tobacco International JTI - Japan Tobacco International is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco, a leading international tobacco product manufacturer. The holding company is JT International SA and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and sells its b ...

and Van Nelle a total of 82 million euros ($95.7 million) for illegally exchanging information about future pricing plans in the 2008-2011 period. In 2022, ACM levied ten weekly fines totaling 50 million euros ($55 million) against

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

for failure to comply with an order to make it possible for dating app providers in the Netherlands to use non-Apple payment methods.Toby Sterling (28 March 2022)
Dutch regulator levies 10th fine on Apple in dating app row, assessing new proposal
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Organisations based in The Hague Competition regulators Regulation in the Netherlands Government agencies established in 2013 2013 establishments in the Netherlands