Apple faces antitrust case in India due to charging the 30% App Store fees, which is mandatory. Apple has been facing criticism ever since because of this. Recently, a non-profit organization from India filed an antitrust case against Apple.
The allegations that have been made by the Indian organization are quite similar to the ones made by the European Union. If you don’t have any idea what is this all about; go through this article thoroughly and you’ll know what is the issue and why is it making so fuss.
Apple Faces Antitrust Case
A non-profit organization from Rajasthan; named Together We Fight Society has allegedly filed the case for imposing the unnecessary commission fees of 30% on the App Store. Apple charges every developer a commission fee of 30% to publish and showcase their apps on the Apple App Store.
And it’s a mandatory commission to pay. This is the primary reason behind the ongoing rough patch between Apple and Epic Games.
Apple has received quite a good amount as an income through this commission over the years. Various authorities, developers, public figures get charged for this commission. This charge is a kind of torture to various developers. In fact, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla; has named this App Store charge as ‘de facto global tax on the internet’.
Anyways, this is for the first time that Apple faces antitrust case in India. The details of the filed case are not available for the general public though. Still, Reuters was able to collect some details from the filings and some relevant sources related to this case; which is being managed by CCI (Competition Commission of India). As per report, this case will be reviewed by CCI. After that, the authority will make a decision whether to go for further investigation or not.
The non-profit organization, which has filed the case stated that they have done it in the interest of the app developers and general consumers as well. It has also been said that this commission fee creates a major barrier to market entry, and has become an obstacle in the field of app development. This, in turn, is making the users pay more while downloading the apps from the App Store.
These claims by the non-profit organization are the reason why Apple faces antitrust case in India. But Apple, on the other hand, claims that this commission is charged to keep the apps safe from malicious apps; and also to keep the marketplace safe. Apple also says that they review each app to keep the marketplace secure for both buyers and sellers and to maintain it properly.