While Apple has been facing criticisms for its mandatory 30% App Store fees in many global regions, a non-profit organization recently filed an antitrust case against the Cupertino giant for the same in India. The Rajasthani non-profit organization called Together We Fight Society reportedly filed the antitrust case against Apple for unnecessarily imposing the 30% commission fee to publish and distribute apps through its digital marketplace.
The report comes from Reuters that cites documents and anonymous sources with knowledge of the antitrust case against Apple. As per the report, the allegations that Apple s facing in this case in India are similar to those the company is facing in the European Union.
Apple, for those unaware, charges a 30% commission fee that app developers must pay to the company when they publish and distribute their products on the App Store. This mandatory App Store commission is the primary reason for the ongoing feud between Apple and Epic Games that started last year. Moreover, Apple has received a fair share of backlash from various authorities, developers, and public figures for its 30% fee in the recent past. In fact, Tesla CEO Elon Musk even termed the App Store fees as the “de facto global tax on the Internet” recently.
However, this is the first time that Apple is facing such an antitrust case in India. Although filings and details of cases managed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) are not available for the general public, Reuters was able to acquire some details from the filings and relevant sources relating to the case.
As per a source, the CCI will review the case initially. Following the review, the authority might or might not open a wider investigation to further look into the matter. While chances for the latter are meager, another source suggested that it is highly that an investigation would be issued for the case. “There are high chances that an investigation can be ordered, also because the EU has been probing this,” one of the sources told Reuters.
The non-profit organization that filed the case says that it did so to protect the interests of app developers as well as consumers in India. The members of the organization state that Apple’s App Store fees pose a major barrier to market entry and hurts competition by increasing the cost of app development. This, in turn, affects the consumers as they need to pay more for downloading the apps from the App Store.
Apple, on the other hand, claims that it charges the mandatory App Store fees to keep its marketplace safe and secure from malicious apps. The company cites user privacy and states that it conducts a thorough review process for each and every app on the App Store to maintain a secure user experience. So, what do you think about Apple’s 30% commission policy on the Apple Store? Do you think it is right? Or do you think it is another capitalistic move to make more money? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
