India's antitrust authority rejects Apple's request to suspend report accusing company of violating competition laws
Date
11/26/2024 6:31:28 AM
(MENAFN) India's antitrust authority has rejected Apple's request to suspend a report accusing the company of violating competition laws, allowing the investigation to proceed. The report, which has been obtained by Reuters, comes after Apple's complaint that the Indian Competition Commission (CCI) had disclosed trade secrets to its competitors, including Match Group (owner of Tinder), in an ongoing case dating back to 2021.
In August, the CCI had instructed the retrieval of previous investigation reports and the destruction of any copies after Apple raised concerns. The regulator then issued new reports. However, in November, Apple accused the ToTogether We Fight Society (TWFS), which filed the original complaint, of not complying with the directive to destroy the old reports. Apple requested the authority to take action against the organization and prevent the publication of the revised report.
The CCI rejected Apple's request, stating that suspending the report was "inadmissible" in a decision issued on November 13. The investigation determined that Apple had abused its dominant position in the iOS app store market, negatively impacting app developers, users, and other payment service providers.
Apple has denied the allegations, arguing that it is a small player in the Indian market, where Android dominates. The CCI has instructed Apple to submit its audited financial statements for fiscal years 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 to assess possible financial penalties. The investigation report is set to be reviewed by senior officials before a final decision is made in the case.
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