Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade says Apple must lift restrictions on payment methods for in-app purchases, among other things, as the watchdog group moved to proceed with an investigation into a complaint filed by MercadoLibre, reports Reuters. MercadoLibre is one of the most popular online marketplaces in Latin America,
MercadoLibre’s complaint, filed in 2022 in Brazil and Mexico, accuses Apple of imposing a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases, including banning apps from distributing third-party digital goods and services such as movies, music, video games, books and written content.
Cade has ruled that Apple must allow app developers to add tools so customers can buy their services or products outside the app, such as through the use of hyperlinks to external websites. Another preventive measure is that Apple must allow app developers to offer other in-app payment processing options apart from the one owned by Apple, according to Reuters..
Apple will have 20 days to comply with the measures. Failing that, Cade will imposing a 250,000 real (about US$43,000) fine per day.
This is just the latest of Apple’s woes in Brazil. In March 2021, the Brazil’s consumer protection foundation, Procon has filed Apple R$ 10,546,442.48 (approximately $1.9 million) for selling iPhones without a charger. In July 2022, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon were accused of buying gold illegally mined in Brazil.
