Software technology giant Apple is facing an antitrust case in India for allegedly abusing its market dominance in the app market by forcing app developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, according to a report by Reuters. A suit has been filed by a Rajasthan-based non-profit group that contends that Apple’s fee of up to 30% affects competition by increasing costs for app developers and customers, while also posing an obstacle to market entry.
"The existence of the 30% commission means that some app developers will never make it to the market ... This could also result in consumer harm,” as per the filing, which has been accessed by Reuters. The case will be reviewed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which could order a probe or dismiss it if it finds no basis in the allegations, the report adds.
The complainant, ‘Together We Fight Society’ told Reuters in a statement that it filed the case for protecting the interests of Indian consumers and startups. The Apple case in India comes against the backdrop of the South Korean parliament this week approving a bill that prohibits major app store operators like Google and Apple from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, the report adds.
Indian startups last year had expressed concern over a similar in-app payments fee charged by Google, and the CCI had ordered an investigation as part of a larger antitrust probe into the company, which is still ongoing.
The case against Apple also alleges that its restrictions on how developers communicate with users to offer payment solutions are anti-competitive, and harm the country's payment processors who offer services at lower rates in the range of 1-5%.
“Apple is harming “app developers’ relationship with their customers by inserting itself as a middleman in every in-app transaction,” the filing added.
This is similar to a case against Apple in the European Union, where regulators last year initiated a probe into Apple’s imposition of an in-app fee of 30% for distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions, the report states.
