Apple Seeks to Dismiss India Antitrust Ruling on App Store

*Apple has told India’s competition regulator that its 2024 findings against the App Store rest on copied claims from rivals rather than an independent probe.*

Apple filed a June 25 submission with the Competition Commission of India asking the agency to throw out its earlier conclusions. The company says investigators simply repeated allegations supplied by opponents instead of conducting their own analysis.

The CCI’s investigators had privately determined in 2024 that Apple engaged in abusive conduct by forcing developers to use its own payment system. Apple disputes those conclusions and notes that it holds under 6 percent of India’s smartphone market.

Opponents in the case include Match and a group of Indian startups. Apple has denied the allegations throughout the proceeding.

What Apple claims

In the submission reviewed by Reuters, Apple argues the regulator’s report contains language lifted directly from complaints filed by its competitors. The company maintains that this approach falls short of the CCI’s obligation to perform an independent investigation.

Apple has described itself as a minor participant in the Indian market and contends that the evidence does not support findings of market dominance or abusive practices.

Regulator’s prior stance

The CCI investigators reached their conclusions after examining Apple’s App Store policies. They determined that the requirement to use Apple’s payment system constituted an abuse and recommended corrective measures.

Apple has rejected those recommendations and is now pressing the commission to set the entire set of findings aside on procedural grounds.

Why it matters

The outcome will determine whether Apple must alter its App Store rules in India or whether the case collapses on the basis of how the investigation was conducted. A decision to quash the findings would limit the CCI’s ability to act on complaints that rely heavily on rival submissions.

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Sources:

• 9to5Mac
• MacRumors

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