According to reports, Apple has filed an application with regulators to prevent antitrust investigations in India and told regulators that its scale in the country is not large enough to abuse its market power. It also stated that the lawsuit is governed by App Store policy. Initiated by critics.
In September, Apple became the subject of an antitrust lawsuit filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), accusing it of abusing the market by forcing developers to use the App Store’s in-app payment mechanism. To prevent the investigation, Apple stated that it is not large enough to even be listed as the dominant player in that particular market.
According to the document seen by Reuters on Sunday, Apple claimed that its market share in India was insignificant, accounting for 0% to 5% of the total market. Meanwhile, Google’s Android system is the control area for more than 90% of smartphone use.
Apple is not dominant in the Indian market, Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer said in a document submitted on November 16. Without a dominant position, there can be no abuse. The document added that Google has been determined to be the dominant player in the Indian market, referring to a CCI report in September that found that Google’s actions in India were anti-competitive.
The original document filed by the non-profit organization Together We Fight Society accused Apple of dominating the unlicensable mobile operating system market. Apple countered that it should consider the entire smartphone market, including the licensable Android system.
This relatively unknown group was also attacked by Apple in the document. The iPhone manufacturer’s complaint was an agent document and it “is likely to have ongoing commercial and contract disputes with Apple worldwide. Or all parties who complain to other regulatory agencies will act together”.
This list can include Epic Games, Tile, Spotify, and many other companies that criticize Apple’s App Store policy, including the well-known 30% transaction fee. Together We Fight Society told Reuters that it believed the comment was prejudiced against CCI’s thinking without any evidence. According to reports, Apple did not include evidence of its agent file claims.
The Competition Commission of India is still deciding whether to conduct a full investigation of the complaint and may make this decision within a few weeks.