Apple withholds India data

Apple has stopped giving India’s antitrust regulator the financial data it says it needs to decide penalties in an App Store case, and the agency has set a final hearing for May 21. (moneycontrol.com) The Competition Commission of India said in an April 8 order that Apple has not submitted its financial details or its views on the investigation since October 2024. Apple instead pointed to a separate case in the Delhi High Court challenging India’s penalty law. (moneycontrol.com) That antitrust case is about how Apple runs the iPhone app economy in India. A 2024 investigation for the regulator found Apple abused a dominant position in the market for app stores on iOS by requiring developers to use its own in-app purchase system. (hindustantimes.com) The regulator uses company financial information to calculate fines after it finds a breach. Apple has argued in court filings that, if India uses global turnover rather than India revenue, its exposure could reach about $38 billion. (moneycontrol.com) The dispute has been running since 2021, when the Alliance of Digital India Foundation challenged Apple’s App Store rules. Match Group, the owner of Tinder, has also pushed the regulator to impose a significant penalty. (medianama.com) Apple has denied wrongdoing in the India case. It has said its market share in India is small and that its App Store rules are intended to protect users’ privacy and security. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The Competition Commission of India rejected Apple’s bid to pause the matter in November 2024 and let the proceeding continue. The latest order moves the case toward a penalty phase even as Apple’s challenge to the penalty framework remains pending in court. (newindianexpress.com, moneycontrol.com) The immediate next date is May 21, when the regulator is due to hold its final hearing. Apple’s strategy now leaves two tracks running at once: one over whether it broke competition rules, and another over how India can count revenue when it sets a fine. (moneycontrol.com)