Apple has successfully blocked its opponents in India, Tinder-owner Match and a group of startups, from accessing its commercially sensitive information which was part of antitrust findings against the U.S. firm, reports Reuters.
Quoting a confidential order shows, the article says an investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year found Apple exploited its dominant position in the market for app stores on its iOS operating system to the detriment of app developers, users and other payment processors. Apple has denied wrongdoing and said it is a small player in India where phones using Google’s operating system are dominant.
This brouhaha goes back to May 2022 when the ADIF an industry body for India’s digital startups, released a study of the app store policies of big tech companies such as Apple and Google and their “adverse effects on Indian developers and users.”
From the report: Both Apple and Google charge a hefty fee for the services that their app stores provide. Starting October 2022, Google – which has a mobile OS market share of over 95% in India – will effectively bar developers from using any other method to accept payments from customers, thus forcing the payment of its commission.
Several Indian developers have objected to the quantum of the commissions, and the lack of choice in picking a payments system, terming the proposed policy unreasonable. The monopolistic policies of the app stores and their abuse of market power are forcing unfavourable terms on developers, who are left with no choice but to comply.
Taking cognizance of these issues, several regulators around the world have expressed concerns with the policies of the dominant app stores. Apple is currently under investigation from regulators in the US, Europe, Japan, Australia and India, while Google is also facing proceedings in the US, Europe and India, among other countries. In India, cases have been filed against Google and Apple with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which is investigating them for abuse of market power.
Reuters says the CCI investigation process has concluded but CCI’s senior members are yet to review the findings and pass a final ruling, which could force Apple to pay fines and even change its practices if the company is confirmed to have indulged in wrongdoing.
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