Sole Owner of Tinder New case increases antitrust pressure on Apple in India

Author: Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Tinder owner Match Group has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple with India’s competition watchdog, accusing it of “monopolistic behavior” that forces developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases, a legal filing Reuters shows.

Apple is fending off a number of antitrust challenges around the world, and Match’s July filing comes on top of two other cases in India, although Match is the first foreign company to mount such a challenge to the iPhone maker in the country.

Apple and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) did not respond to Reuters’ queries, and a Match spokesman declined to comment on the filing.

In a previously unreported filing in India, Match argues that Apple’s conduct limits innovation and growth for app developers offering digital services by forcing use of its proprietary in-app purchase system and an “excessive” 30% commission.

A similar dispute in the Netherlands resulted in a €50 million fine for Apple and an agreement to allow different payment methods on Dutch dating apps.

The US giant has long enforced the use of its in-app payment system, which charges commissions that some developers like Match around the world say are too high.

In its India filing, Match argues that users in other countries often prefer to use payment methods that Apple does not allow, and in India a state-backed online transfer system was preferred.

“Apple is therefore using its dominant market position in the iOS App Store to promote exclusive use of its own payment solution,” Mark Buse, director of global government relations at Match, said in the filing.

In India, the CCI began an investigation in December into allegations made by a local nonprofit group that Apple’s in-app purchasing system harmed competition by raising costs for app developers and customers, while also creating a barrier to entry.

The watchdog ordered an investigation after Apple denied any wrongdoing, saying it was not a dominant player in India, where it has a “negligible” market share of 0-5%, arguing that Google’s Android system had a market share level 90-100%.

The investigation will now cover each of three separate cases filed against Apple, according to three sources with knowledge of the proceedings.

Match’s Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps in India, accounting for about 51% of consumer spending across the top five dating apps in the second quarter of this year, according to data from Sensor Tower.

In recent years, Apple has loosened some restrictions on developers around the world, such as allowing them to use communications – such as email – to share information about alternative payment methods outside the iOS app and lowering commissions for smaller developers to 15%.

“This commission rate does not apply to applications of Match portfolio brands,” Match’s application said.

Apple claims that in India, 87% of the apps in the App Store are those that pay no commission at all.

Match also complained that Apple considers ride-hailing apps in India such as SoftBank-backed Uber and Ola to provide “physical goods/services,” allowing them to provide alternative payment solutions even though they perform a “similar matchmaking function,” e.g. dating app.

“Both dating and ride-sharing apps have the same basic purpose, which is to match two people online to meet in the real world…Apple has arbitrarily determined that these two people are different,” Match said.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Munsif Vengatill; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)