Apple requests CCI to dismiss app market case

Apple Inc. has requested India’s antitrust authority to dismiss a case alleging abuse of market power in the applications marketplace, claiming that it is too tiny a participant in the South Asian country where Google is dominating, reported Reuters.

The filing came after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) began investigating claims that Apple harms competition by requiring app developers to use its proprietary system, which may charge up to 30% commission on in-app sales.

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In its petition to the CCI, Apple refuted the claims and emphasized that its market share in India is an “insignificant” zero to five percent, but Google controls 90-100 percent since its Android operating system drives the majority of other smartphones.

“Apple is not dominant in the Indian market … Without dominance, there can be no abuse,” Apple said in the submission dated Nov. 16 which was signed by its Chief Compliance Officer, Kyle Andeer.

“It has already been established that Google is the dominant player in India,” it added.

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The case’s complainant, a little-known non-profit organization named “Together We Fight Society,” claimed that Apple’s iOS dominates the market for non-licensable mobile operating systems.

In its filing, Apple responded by claiming that the whole smartphone industry – including licensable systems like Android – should be considered.

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In its CCI reply, Apple also called the Indian complaint a “proxy filing,” claiming that the complainant was “likely acting in concert with parties with whom Apple has ongoing commercial and contractual disputes globally and/or that have complained to other regulators.”

In its petition, the US-based technology corporation provided no proof to back up this statement. 

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According to the non-profit, Apple’s comment was “made to prejudice the mind” of the CCI “without any iota of proof.”

The CCI will assess Apple’s response to the allegations in the coming weeks and may order a deeper probe or dismiss the complaint entirely if it finds no validity in it. The specifics of CCI investigations are not made public.