Tinder Match Group owner filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), accusing Apple of “monopolistic conduct” on fees charged to developers for in-app purchases, according to a legal filing seen by Reuters.
Aditya Kalra for Reuters:
A similar dispute in the Netherlands resulted in a € 50 million fine for Apple and an agreement to allow different payment methods in Dutch dating applications.
Match claims in its filing for India that users from other countries often prefer to use payment methods that Apple doesn’t allow and a state-supported online transfer system was preferred in India.
“Apple is therefore leveraging its dominant position in the iOS App Store market to promote the exclusive use of its payment solution,” said Mark Buse, global government relations manager for Match, in the filing.
In India, the CCI began investigating allegations by a local nonprofit group in December that Apple’s in-app purchase system harms competition by increasing costs for app developers and customers, while also acting as a barrier to market entry.
MacDailyNews takes: Apple’s market share in the Indian smartphone market is currently 3.94% (StatCounter, July 2022).
Android providers hold 96% of the market as India is one of the poorest countries in the world.
Clearly, Apple does not have a monopoly in India, nor will it shortly, so the anti-rust actions do not apply.
Match Group wants to enjoy all the benefits of Apple’s App Store in India, including access to India’s wealthiest users, for free. This is illogical, unfair and, fundamentally, a theft.
Help us support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support ours independent technology blog. Thank you!
Buy the Apple Store on Amazon.