Apple Is Facing Antitrust Challenge In India Now, Says Report. Know What Is The Case

It has come to light that an Indian non-profit group has accused Apple of forcing developers to use its in-app purchase system by abusing its dominant position in the market

Logo of Apple | Image Source: AFP

New Delhi: In the European Union, Apple Inc is being investigated by antitrust regulators over its App Store and Apple Pay, with the EU Commission looking into the tech giant’s rules that making it mandatory for app developers to using its own in-app purchase system in dealing with customers, and prevent them from informing users of cheaper products elsewhere.

In Japan, Apple faced an investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission into its “anti-competitive practices”, and just had to offer a concession as part of a settlement.  Developers in Japan can now bypass the controversial 30 percent App Store fee, media reports said.

South Korea's parliament also approved a bill this week banning Apple and Google from forcing software developers to use their in-app payment systems.

It has now come to light that the iPhone makers are facing a similar antitrust challenge in India too, Reuters said in an exclusive report Thursday, citing “a source and documents”.

In India too, Apple is accused of forcing developers to use its in-app purchase system by abusing its dominant position in the apps market, the report said.

What Is The Apple Antitrust Case In India? 

The complaint is said to have been filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), by ‘Together We Fight Society’, a Rajasthan-based not-for-profit. The group argues that the up to 30 percent fee charged by Apple raises the costs for both app developers and customers, according to the report.

"The existence of the 30% commission means that some app developers will never make it to the market," said the filing in the Apple case, which Reuters claims to have seen.

Details of the cases reviewed by the CCI are not made public. The commission is to review the case in the coming weeks, the report said, quoting a source familiar with the matter and adding said it could order its investigations arm to conduct a probe, or even dismiss it if there is no merit in the complaint.

"There are high chances that an investigation can be ordered, also because the EU has been probing this," said the person, who declined to be identified as the case details are not public.

Apple and CCI have not commented on the matter.

In a statement sent to Reuters, the complainant said it filed the case “in the interest of protecting Indian consumers and startups”.

In November last year, the CCI ordered a detailed probe against Google for alleged unfair business practices with respect to its popular digital wallet platform Google Pay.

While ordering the probe, it had said the CCI was of the prima facie view that the conduct of Google amounted to “imposition of unfair and discriminatory condition, denial of market access for competing apps of Google Pay and leveraging on the part of Google”.

Investigations into the case are still on.