Indian Watchdog Probes Apple Over App Market Abuse

On Friday, India’s antitrust regulator ordered an investigation into Apple’s business practices in the country, saying it was of the initial view that the iPhone maker had violated certain antitrust laws, reported Reuters. 

India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI) order comes after a non-profit group alleged this year that Apple was abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system.

The complainant, “Together We Fight Society”, argued that Apple’s imposition of a 30% in-app fee for distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and customers, while also acting as a barrier to market entry.

Related: Platform Markets: The Antitrust Challenge in India

The CCI said Apple’s restrictions prima facie result in denial of market access for potential app developers and distributors.

“The Commission at this stage is convinced that a prima facie case is made out against Apple which merits investigation,” it said.

The company denied the allegations in a filing to the CCI last month, seen by Reuters, and asked the regulator to throw out the case, stressing that its market share in India was an “insignificant” 0-5%.

CCI however said in the order that Apple’s argument on its market share was “completely misdirected” as the allegations were about anti-competitive restrictions on app developers and not end-users.

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