Apple Abused Its Dominant Position In App Store Market, Says CCI Report

In a major blow for big tech giant Apple, competition watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly found the iPhone maker guilty of abusing its dominant position in the app store market. 

Citing a confidential report of the CCI’s investigation unit, Reuters said it found that Apple influences how digital businesses reach end consumers through its iOS platform and App Store. 

The report said that Apple’s iOS ecosystem has become indispensable for developers. Due to this, the company has been implementing unfair trade practices. 

“Apple App Store is an unavoidable trading partner for app developers, and resultantly, app developers have no choice but to adhere to Apple’s unfair terms, including the mandatory use of Apple’s proprietary billing and payment system,” the CCI unit said in the June 24 report.

The report is currently under the review of senior CCI officials and hasn’t been made public. Apple will have the opportunity to respond to these findings as the investigation proceeds.

Inc42 has reached out to CCI and Apple to seek clarity on the development. The story will be updated on receiving their responses. 

It is pertinent to note that Apple has been under CCI’s lens since 2021.

Initiating its investigation, the watchdog observed that the Apple’s App Store is the only channel for app developers to distribute their apps to iOS consumers which are pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad.

Apple has maintained that the commission charged by it does not impact the competitiveness of developers. 

A year after CCI began investigating Apple, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) became a party in the probe after a Jaipur-based non-profit organisation (NPO), Together We Fight Society, filed a separate case. 

The NPO alleged that high in-app fees and other restrictions raise costs for app developers and customers alike, hurting competition and acting as a barrier to enter the market. The scrutiny got heightened with Tinder owner Match Group filing a similar antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant.  

Last year, reports said that the CCI’s findings in Apple’s case were similar to its findings in the case of Google Play. 

In 2022, the CCI imposed a penalty of INR 936.44 Cr on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies, apart from issuing a cease-and-desist order. The Commission also directed Google to modify its conduct within a defined timeline.

Earlier this year, Google told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the penalty levied by the CCI on the company was “amorphous and overbearing”.