After Google, Apple reportedly facing huge penalties in India: Here’s why

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) recently fined Google a total of Rs 2,274 crore, including Rs 936.44 crore for “anti-competitive practices in relation to its Play Store policies” in India. The antitrust watchdog ordered Google to allow third-party billing or payment processing services in India. On similar lines, Apple is now likely facing huge monetary penalties as CCI has expedited its probe on the iPhone maker, a report has claimed.
Citing sources close to the matter, The Hindu Business Line has reported that CCI Apple is likely to face antitrust heat for its Google-like payment processing policies on the App Store. The report says that “the investigation report in the App Store matter is likely to be submitted soon whereupon the same would be forwarded to the complainant and Apple for their response.”
Apple facing penalties for IAP
The report also cited a lawyer representing the tech companies before CCI that Apple is potentially facing huge monetary penalties for its in-app purchase system (IAP) policies.
“It is an open and shut case now as the principle is already defined. It would be better for Apple to change its policy before final hearing as such a voluntary remedy may be taken as a mitigating factor by CCI. Otherwise, the penalties can be significant as CCI may consider revenue from Apple devices as well as App Store in calculating penalties. Apple is a sitting duck awaiting a whiff of antitrust shotgun,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.
CCI probe into Apple for IAP
NGO Together We Fight Society and Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), which is an industry body for India’s digital startups, filed cases against Apple for its payment and billing policies on the App Store. Based on their complaints, in December last year, the CCI ordered a probe into Apple’s IAP in the country, noting that it is of initial view that the iPhone-maker had violated certain antitrust laws.

Apple’s in-app purchase system
As per App Store rules, developers have to select Apple’s proprietary IAP for distribution of paid digital content and the iPhone-maker charges a 30% commission for app and in-app purchases. The CCI noted that this practice restricts app developers to select a payment processing system of their choice – something which CCI also said when it fined Google for its Play Store purchase system.
App developers oppose App Store policy
Epic Games, Spotify and Telegram have been vocal against Apple’s rules. Last year, Epic Games won a ruling against Apple wherein a judge ruled that Apple is “permanently restrained and enjoined from prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms, in addition to In-App Purchasing and communicating with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app.”
Recently, Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta criticised Apple’s updated App Store policy that asks developers for a 30% cut on “sales of ‘boosts’ for posts in a social media app.”