India: Despite Apple’s big investment, regulatory proceedings continue

Competition authority India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reopened proceedings against Apple that were stayed for possible antitrust violations in the iOS App Store. An attempt by Apple to block the “antitrust report” failed, Reuters news agency reported. According to the company, this process has been going on since 2021 and is said to have put Apple’s trade secrets at “jeopardy.” But CCI has now decided just darken the important areas,

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Argument: Investigation report contains trade secrets

CCI believes that Apple has violated Indian competition law. The investigation report said the company took advantage of its “dominant position in the iOS App Store market” with negative consequences for app developers. The CCI was called by the non-profit group Together We Fight Society (TWFS).

After the report was published, Apple faced pressure to retract it because it leaked information that could be used by competitors, such as the match groups to which Tinder belongs. CCI now wants to delete these areas and require all interested parties to return the report and delete copies. Then the blacked out version will be published.

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Apple sees itself as only a small player

However, CCI does not want to stop this process. “Apple’s request for a stay pending the investigation report was deemed unacceptable,” the agency said. Apple itself had always insisted that it was only a “small player” in India, as Google’s Android operating system is dominant in the country. For this reason alone, the group should not have a dominant position in the market. CCI has now asked Apple to provide financial documents to calculate the possible penalty. The requested data should go back to 2021.

The proceedings are similar to various other competition disputes with authorities in the United States, the European Union and Asian countries. The question is always whether Apple’s sometimes stringent App Store rules are legal. In the EU, billions in fines have been imposed over violations of the Digital Markets Act – one fine has already been imposed.

(B.Sc.)