UPDATED 15:05 EST / DECEMBER 31 2021

POLICY

India’s competition regulator orders investigation of Apple’s App Store policies

India’s competition regulator today ordered an investigation into Apple Inc.’s App Store policies, which have drawn mounting antitrust scrutiny in recent years. 

The Competition Commission of India reportedly decided to launch the probe after tentatively determining that Apple has violated certain antitrust regulations. A report containing the investigation’s findings is set to be prepared within the next 60 days.

At the center of the investigation are Apple’s policies concerning in-app purchases made through the App Store. Apple requires iOS developers to process in-app purchases using its own payment system, which takes an up to 30% fee from transactions. Developers who don’t wish to use the iPhone maker’s payment system must use external sales channels such as e-commerce websites. 

The Competition Commission of India said that it believes Apple’s policies “restrict the choice available to the app developers to select a payment processing system of their choice,” TechCrunch reported today. 

The investigation will reportedly also cover certain other aspects of Apple’s business practices. The Competition Commission of India is said to have raised the question of whether the iPhone maker uses data it collects about competitors’ users to “improve its own services.”

Apple pushed back against the allegations in a filing to the regulator last month and requested that the case be thrown out, according to Reuters. However, officials didn’t accept the company’s arguments, reportedly calling them “completely misdirected.”

Apple’s in-app purchase policies have also drawn scrutiny in the European Union. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, this year brought formal antitrust charges against Apple over its policy that iOS developers process in-app purchases exclusively using its payment system. Officials also raised concerns over the restrictions that the iPhone maker imposes on developers that don’t use its payment system.

Separately, the U.K.’s competition regulator launched its own investigation of Apple’s business practices in March. The iPhone maker’s in-app purchase policies are one focus of the investigation. The regulator is also evaluating whether Apple’s requirement that iOS apps be distributed exclusively through the App Store is anticompetitive.

Apple rival Google LLC is also facing scrutiny over its business practices in the mobile market. The Competition Commission of India is investigating whether the search giant has unfairly promoted its Google Pay payment app to gain an edge over rivals.

Photo: Unsplash

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