India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI), country’s regulator in antitrust cases, has denied Apple’s request to suspend the review of a report alleging anti-competitive practices by the tech giant. This refusal means that the investigation against the iPhone maker – which began three years ago – will not be ending anytime soon.
The central point of the investigation is whether Apple exploited its market dominance through restrictive practices within its iOS App Store. Prior to this, the CCI alleged that the Cupertino-headquartered Apple had imposed unfair conditions on app developers, harmed alternative payment processors, and limited user choice. Alongside this, developers have, for a long time, criticized the company for making use of its proprietary payment system (which includes a commission fee) mandatory, and have argued that this restricts fair competition in the market and creates an uneven playing field.
For its part, Apple has denied these allegations, maintaining that its market share in India is too small to warrant claims of anti-competitive behaviour. The company further pointed out that Google’s Android platform currently accounts for over 96% of the Indian smartphone market, leaving Apple as a relatively minor player in this market. This comes at a time when Apple has attracted regulatory scrutiny from across the globe, including the UK and the US. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) examines whether the company’s policies have hindered competition in the mobile ecosystem. In the US, on the other hand, Apple has sought to dismiss a Department of Justice lawsuit that accuses the company of monopolistic practices in the smartphone market.
If this is not enough, there seems to be a dispute over the handling of confidential data as well. In August, Apple raised concerns that the CCI’s initial investigation report included sensitive commercial information that was improperly disclosed to its competitors. Following these allegations, the CCI recalled the original report and issued revised versions, and directed all involved parties to destroy copies of the initial report in a bid to safeguard sensitive data.
Apple did not abide by this, and went on to allege that Together We Fight Society (TWFS), the nonprofit organization that filed the initial complaint, failed to comply with the CCI’s directive to destroy the earlier reports. The tech behemoth further subsequently sought regulatory action against TWFS and requested that the revised investigation reports be withheld until compliance was assured. However, the CCI dismissed this request as “untenable.”
In light of the ongoing case, the CCI has instructed Apple to provide audited financial statements for the fiscal years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. If the regulator determines that Apple has been in violation of the local competition laws, then it will impose financial penalties on the company once the senior officials at the CCI make the final decision.
