Apple is facing an antitrust challenge in India for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, reports Reuters.
The Indian case was filed by a little-known, non-profit group that argues the tech giant’s fee of up to 30% hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and customers, while also acting as a barrier to market entry. Unlike Indian court cases, filings and details of cases reviewed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) are not made public.
This is similar to an investigation by the European Union. In 2020, it was announced that Apple is facing formal investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices over both the App Store and Apple Pay. The European Commission has announced the two conduct investigations. Apple could potentially end up being fined up to 10% of its annual revenue.
“It appears that Apple sets the conditions on how Apple Pay should be used in merchants’ apps and websites,” said EU Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager in a statement. “It also reserves the “tap and go” functionality of iPhones to Apple Pay.”
The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe.
