Apple urges Competition Commission of India to dismiss anti-trust case

Apple has asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to throw out a case alleging that it abuses its power in the apps market.

The filing was made after the CCI started reviewing charges that the US tech giant hurts competition by forcing app developers to use its proprietary system, which can charge commissions of up to 30 per cent on in-app purchases.

Apple said in its submission that its market share in India is an “insignificant” 0-5 per cent, while Google commands 90-100 per cent share.

“Apple is not dominant in the Indian market… Without dominance, there can be no abuse,” Apple said in the submission dated November 16.

“It has already been established that Google is the dominant player in India,” it added.

The case against Apple was filed earlier this year by a non-profit group called ‘Together We Fight Society’. 

“The existence of the 30 per cent commission means that some app developers will never make it to the market… This could also result in consumer harm,” said the September filing.

Apple countered that the entire smartphone market – which includes licensable systems like Android – is the market that should be taken into consideration.

It also described the complaint as a “proxy filing”, saying that the complainant was “likely acting in concert with parties with whom Apple has ongoing commercial and contractual disputes globally and/or that have complained to other regulators”.

Apple’s iOS powered about 2 per cent of 520 million smartphones in India as of end-2020 with the rest using Android, according to Counterpoint Research.

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Apple faces similar allegations in other parts of the world, including the United States and European Union.

A US district court ruling in September forced the Cupertino-based Apple to loosen its grip on its App Store payment system, and allow developers to take steps to skirt its  commission.

The lawsuit was brought by Epic Games in August 2020 after it tried to get around the App Store payment system. Apple had promptly removed Fortnite from its store in response, triggering the lawsuit in which Epic accused the company of stifling competition by controlling what apps could appear on the store and how they operate.

EU regulators last year started an investigation into the company’s imposition of the in-app fee for distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions.