India antitrust probe finds Apple abused position in apps market
India latest in growing antitrust scrutiny of Apple globally
India investigation says Apple policies hurt developers
Apple has argued it is too small a player in India
Company can argue against India findings in coming weeks
By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, July 12 (Reuters) -An investigation by India's antitrust body has found that Appleexploited its dominant position in the market for app stores on its iOS operating system, engaging "in abusive conduct and practices", a confidential report seen by Reuters showed.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been investigating Apple Inc AAPL.O since 2021 for possibly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system.
Apple has denied wrongdoing saying it was a small player in India where phones that use Google's Android system are dominant.
The CCI's investigations unit, in its 142-page report which is not public but was seen by Reuters, said Apple wields "significant influence" over how digital products and services reach consumers, especially through its iOS platform and App Store.
"Apple App Store is an unavoidable trading partner for app developers, and resultantly, app developers have no choice but to adhere to Apple's unfair terms, including the mandatory use of Apple's proprietary billing and payment system," the CCI unitsaid in the June 24 report.
"From the perspective of app developers, Apple iOS ecosystem is indispensable."
Apple and the CCI did not respond to requests for comment.
The Indian investigation report comes as Apple faces increased antitrust scrutiny in other regions.
In June, European Union antitrust regulators said Apple breached the bloc's tech rules, which could result in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker. The company also faces an investigation into new fees imposed on app developers.
In January, in response to a new EU law called the Digital Markets Act, Apple outlined plans to allow software developers to distribute their apps to users in the European Union outside of Apple's own App Store.
The CCI report is the most critical stage of the Indian investigation and it will now be reviewed by the watchdog's senior officials.
Apple and other parties will be allowed to respond before a final decision is reached, which could include monetary fines as well as directives to change business practices.
APPLE VS GOOGLE IN INDIA
The Indian case was first filed by a little-known, non-profit group called "Together We Fight Society" which argued Apple's in-app fee of up to 30% hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and customers.
Later, a group of Indian startups, Alliance of Digital India Foundation, and Tinder-owner Match MTCH.O filed similar cases at the CCI against Apple, which were all heard together.
The CCI investigation team said in its report that no third-party payment processor was being permitted by Apple to provide the services for in-app purchases.
It added that in most cases the apps are also not being allowed to include any external links that direct customers to other purchasing mechanisms, violating Indian competition laws.
Apple's iOS powered about 3.5% of 690 million smartphones in India as of mid-2024, with the rest using Android, according to Counterpoint Research, though it adds Apple's smartphone base in the country has become five times larger in the last five years.
In its submissions to the CCI, Apple argued its market share in India is an "insignificant" 0-5%, while Google commands 90-100%. The company also argued that the in-app payment system allowed it to maintain and develop the safety of its App Store.
But the CCI said, "App stores are OS (operating system) specific and Apple's App store is the sole App store available for reaching iOS users."
"The payment policy of Apple adversely affects the app developers, users and other payment processors," it said.
The CCI report showed it considered comments from many companies including Microsoft, Uber and Amazon during its Apple investigation.
Google too has faced CCI's heat for its in-app payments mechanism.
In October 2022, the CCI imposed a $113 million fine on Google and said it must allow the use of third-party billing and stop forcing developers to use its in-app payment system. Google has challenged the decision.
Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Hugh Lawson
İlgili varlıklar
En son haberler
Bildirim: XM Group şirketlerinin her biri yalnızca gerçekleştirme hizmeti ve online yatırım platformumuza erişim sağlar. Herhangi bir kişinin web sitesinde bulunan veya web sitesi üzerinden sağlanan içeriği görüntülemesine ve/veya kullanmasına izin vermek, bu hizmeti değiştirmek veya genişletmek amaçlı değildir ve bu hizmeti ne değiştirir ne de genişletir. Bu tür erişim ve kullanım her zaman şunlara tabidir: (i) Şartlar ve Koşullar; (ii) Risk Uyarıları ve (iii) Tam Bildirim. Bu nedenle bu tür içerikler yalnızca genel bilgi amacıyla sağlanır. Özellikle, online yatırım platformumuzun içeriklerinin finans piyasalarında herhangi bir işleme girmek için bir teşvik veya bir teklif olmadığını lütfen dikkate alın. Herhangi bir finans piyasasında yatırım yapmak sermayeniz için önemli düzeyde risk taşır.
Online yatırım platformumuzda yayınlanan tüm materyaller yalnızca eğitim/bilgilendirme amaçlıdır ve finansal tavsiye, yatırım vergisi veya yatırım tavsiyesi ve önerileri ya da yatırım fiyatlarımızın kaydı veya herhangi bir finansal enstrümanda işlem yapılması için bir teklif veya teşvik ya da talep edilmemiş finansal promosyonları içermez ve içerdiği şeklinde bir değerlendirme yapılmamalıdır.
Görüşler, haberler, araştırma, analizler, fiyatlar, diğer bilgiler veya bu web sitesinde bulunan üçüncü taraf sitelere verilen bağlantılar gibi her türlü üçüncü taraf içeriğin yanı sıra XM tarafından hazırlanan içerik de “olduğu gibi” esasına göre, genel piyasa yorumu olarak sağlanır ve bir yatırım tavsiyesi oluşturmaz. Herhangi bir içeriğin yatırım araştırması olarak yorumlanmasıyla ilgili olarak, içeriğin bağımsız yatırım araştırmasını desteklemek üzere tasarlanmış yasal gerekliliklere uygun hazırlanmadığını ve bu amacın güdülmediğini, aynı şekilde ilgili yasalar ve mevzuatlar kapsamında pazarlama iletişimi olarak değerlendirileceğini dikkate almalı ve kabul etmelisiniz. Buradan erişebileceğiniz Bağımsız Olmayan Yatırım Araştırması Bildirimimizi ve yukarıdaki bilgilerle ilgili Risk Uyarımızı okuduğunuzdan ve anladığınızdan emin olun.
