According to the Economic Times of India, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is close to concluding its antitrust investigation into the App Store and has concluded that Apple is expected to have to open up its platform to competitors.
Apple has been under the CCI investigation since September 2021, when it launched the App Store in response to complaints from the nonprofit “Together We Fight Society.”
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According to the sources, the next step will be to ask Apple to submit a report. But it’s unclear how this differs from any previous Apple filing, or when a final ruling will be made.
These sources expect CCI to eventually repeat previous demands on Google (Note: Refers to the opening of third-party payment systems on Google Play). Therefore, there is a high probability that Apple will be required to open a third-party payment system for the App Store in India, not just requiring developers to use its own payment system.
Of course, this is not the first time Apple has been asked to open up a third-party payment system. In 2022, Apple complies with South Korean authorities’ request to allow developers to use external payment methods. But even then, Apple limited the option to only apps published in South Korea and still charged a 25% commission.
In addition, Apple is also facing a similar situation in the European Union, so they are also making broader preparations for the App Store’s open payment system. It is expected that the European Digital Market Law will start to force Apple to implement this plan in 2024.
