India's regulatory agency rejects Apple's request, and the antitrust investigation continues to advance
The Competition Commission of India has rejected Apple's request to suspend the antitrust investigation, which will continue. The investigation stems from a review of Apple's dominant position in the iOS App Store market, which may harm the interests of app developers and users. Apple had requested a suspension of the investigation on the grounds of trade secret disclosure, but this was not approved. The CCI also requested Apple to submit audited financial statements for multiple fiscal years to determine the possible amount of fines. Ultimately, senior officials of the CCI will review the investigation report and make a ruling
According to the Zhitong Finance APP, India's antitrust agency, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has rejected Apple Inc.'s (AAPL.US) request to suspend an investigation report accusing it of violating competition laws, allowing the antitrust investigation against Apple to continue. The case stems from CCI's investigation into Apple's dominance in the iOS App Store market, which found that it may harm the interests of app developers, users, and other payment processors. Apple had requested to suspend the investigation on the grounds of trade secret disclosure, but CCI did not accept this.
Specifically, in August, CCI ordered the recall of the investigation report after Apple claimed that the regulatory agency disclosed its trade secrets dating back to 2021 to competitors, including Tinder owner Match. Subsequently, CCI requested all parties to return the report and destroy all copies, and issued a new report.
However, in November, Apple accused the main complainant, the Indian non-profit organization "Together We Fight Society" (TWFS), of failing to comply with the directive to destroy the old investigation report and requested CCI to take action against it and withhold the revised report. But CCI stated in an internal order that Apple's request to suspend the investigation report lacked reasonable grounds.
Apple did not respond to this matter, and CCI and TWFS did not provide comments outside of normal working hours.
It is worth noting that CCI found in its investigation that Apple may have harmed multiple interests by leveraging its market dominance, but Apple denies any wrongdoing and emphasizes that it is just a small company in the Indian market, while Google's Android system dominates the market in India.
Additionally, CCI has also requested Apple to submit audited financial statements for multiple fiscal years in accordance with regulatory guidelines to determine the potential amount of fines. Ultimately, senior officials at CCI will review the investigation report and make a ruling on the case