New Delhi: In a response to the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) notice over allegations of the abuse of dominance in the app market, Apple has asked the antitrust watchdog to dismiss a case saying it is too small a player in India where Google is dominant.
What are allegations against Apple?
CCI has started reviewing allegations that Apple 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.
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The CCI is separately conducting an investigation into Google’s in-app payment system as part of a broader probe into the company after Indian startups last year voiced concern.
The complainant in the case, a little-known non-profit group called “Together We Fight Society”, said that Apple with iOS dominates the market for non-licensable mobile operating systems.
What’s Apple’s stance?
Denying the allegations, Apple stressed that its market share in India is an “insignificant” 0-5 per cent , while Google commands 90-100 per cent as its Android operating system powers most other smartphones, according to the filing accessed by the news agency Reuters.
“Apple is not dominant in the Indian market … Without dominance, there can be no abuse,” Apple said in the submission dated November 16 which was signed by its Chief Compliance Officer, Kyle Andeer. “It has already been established that Google is the dominant player in India,” it added.
Defending the allegations, Apple said the entire smartphone market including licensable systems like Android, is the market that should be taken into consideration.
Apple also described the complaint as a “proxy filing” in its CCI submission, 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.”
However, the US tech company did not give any evidence in its submission to support its claim. In the coming days, the CCI will review Apple’s response to the allegations and could order a wider investigation or dismiss the case altogether if it finds no merit in it. Details of CCI investigations are not publicly disclosed.
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