According to market sources, India's antitrust agency, the Competition Commission of India, found that Apple engaged in "abusive conduct and practices" by leveraging its dominant position in the iOS app store market.
Since 2021, the Competition Commission of India has been investigating whether Apple may have abused its dominant position in the application market and forced developers to use its proprietary in-app purchasing system. Apple has always denied any wrongdoing, stating that it is a small company in India and that phones using Google's Android system dominate the Indian market.
The investigation department of the Competition Commission of India stated in this 142-page report that Apple has "significant influence" on how digital products and services reach consumers, especially through its iOS platform and App Store. The report has not yet been released.
The Competition Commission of India stated in its report: "The Apple App Store is an unavoidable trading partner for app developers, so app developers have no choice but to comply with Apple's unfair terms, including the mandatory use of Apple's proprietary billing and payment system. From the perspective of app developers, the Apple iOS ecosystem is indispensable."
Apple and the Competition Commission of India have not yet commented on this.
In addition to India, Apple is also facing increasing antitrust scrutiny in other regions. Last month, the European Union's antitrust regulator, the European Commission, preliminarily found that Apple App Store rules violated the EU's Digital Markets Act because they prevented app developers from directing consumers to alternative products.
In addition, Apple is also under investigation for charging new fees to app developers.
This report from the Competition Commission of India's investigation team is subject to review by senior officials of the Commission. Before making a final decision, Apple and other parties can respond. If finally found to be illegal, Apple may be fined and adjust its business practices.
The case was originally brought by a little-known non-profit organization called "Together We Fight Society". The organization believes that Apple's app store commission, which is as high as 30%, raises costs for app developers and customers, thereby harming competition.
The investigation team of the Competition Commission of India stated in its report that Apple does not allow any third-party payment processors to provide services for in-app purchases. In most cases, these applications also do not allow external links that guide customers to other purchase mechanisms, which violates India's competition law.
According to data from market research firm Counterpoint Research, as of mid-2024, Apple iOS powers about 3.5% of the 0.69 billion smartphones in India, with the rest using Android. In the past five years, Apple's smartphone users in India have grown five-fold.