Apple is one of the biggest smartphone makers in the world. However, that’s not the only way the Cupertino-based $2 trillion company makes all of its revenues. It extracts billions through in app purchases, facilitating transactions through its App Store, charging a 30% cut. For all of the company’s history, there’s really been no other choice. Either abide by the rules, or be ready to fight an ‘Epic’ legal battle. However, this may change soon, as countries are passing new rules periodically, holding Apple accountable by providing app developers other routes. Now, it looks like India might follow suite soon.
The Competition Commission of India, the country’s monopoly regulator, may soon be looking at an antitrust suit filed against Apple over how it mandates that app developers use Apple’s own in-app payment system, according to a report by Reuters.
The suit is being filed by a non profit organization called “Together We Fight Society”, which seeks to provide more opportunities for developers as well as the startups of India, which are fledgling at the moment.
A lot of countries have been looking at regulating the power held by these companies. Apple has been facing scrutiny from around the globe for quite some time, and has tried to make up for it by suggesting that it offers a chance for developers to make use of its large platform and reach audiences all over the world. However, the 30% commission can mean that “that some app developers will never make it to the market,” Reuters noted. Thus, something needs to be changed, according to lawmakers.
Yesterday, the company reached a settlement in Japan, wherein, reading apps will now be allowed to redirect users to external sites to provide alternatives to Apple’s proprietary in-app payment provision.
Moreover, South Korea also passed a new law earlier this week, mandating that Apple and Google cannot make commission by forcing developers to use their proprietary payment systems.
India has been trying to regulate the growing tech industry in the country, and passed the new IT rules of 2021 a few months ago. While they did meet with a lot of skepticism at first, every major organization has already come in accordance with them. Thus, India has set a precedent of undertaking bold moves, and this new antitrust investigation against Apple could lead to major changes in how the company operates in the country.
