India criticizes Apple for ‘abusive practices’ in App Store

Apple’s antitrust woes are spreading across the globe, according to a new report. Following in the footsteps of the EU, India is the latest country to take issue with Apple’s App Store practices, the first results of a multi-year investigation have revealed.

India continues trend of opposing Apple’s App Store practices

Aditya Kalra writes for Reuters Agency:

An investigation by India’s antitrust watchdog has found that Apple abused its dominant position in app stores for its iOS operating system by engaging in “abusive practices,” according to a confidential report seen by Reuters.

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“Apple App Store is an unavoidable trading partner for app developers and, as a result, app developers have no choice but to comply with Apple’s unfair terms and conditions, including the mandatory use of Apple’s proprietary billing and payment system,” the CCI unit said in a June 24 report.

The report from the investigation, which has been ongoing since 2021, has not yet been publicly released. However, once it is, Apple could formally issue a response.

In earlier statements to the CCI investigation team, Apple had argued that it was a small player in the country, “insignificant” due to its 0-5% market share.

However, the scale of the company’s presence in India does not matter much for now, as regulators like the EU have effectively forced Apple to support alternative payment methods and even third-party app stores.

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Now that the EU has shown that Apple can be forced to change its ways, it’s easier to see other legislative action around the world following suit. Still, expect Apple to defend itself with all the tools at its disposal, trying to prevent what started in the EU from becoming widespread around the world.