Apple has successfully prevented its opponents in India — Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, and Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a coalition of startups — from accessing commercially sensitive information against the U.S. tech giant. A confidential order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ruled in Apple’s favour highlighting concerns over potential harm if the data were disclosed.
Match Group and AIDF had sought access to specific confidential details from the CCI’s investigation. These included developer payout figures and total billings, which Apple had redacted from the investigation reports shared with the parties involved, reports Reuters.
The case stems from an investigation launched by the CCI, which found that Apple had abused its dominant position in the iOS app store market, disadvantaging app developers, users, and alternative payment processors. The Indian antitrust case was initiated by a relatively obscure non-profit group, Together We Fight Society. It challenged Apple’s in-app purchase fee of up to 30%, arguing that it stifles competition and increases costs for developers and consumers.
Match Group argued that Apple has a history of excessive redactions in antitrust cases worldwide, a tactic that allegedly prevents effective scrutiny of its business practices. However, the CCI rejected this argument in a 13-page confidential order issued on March 3, ruling that disclosing such information was neither necessary nor expedient.
The order stated that releasing the redacted data could harm Apple and third-party entities. The CCI noted that because Match Group is involved in similar antitrust disputes against Apple in other jurisdictions, granting access to these findings could harm Apple’s competitive standing globally.
While Apple has consistently denied any wrongdoing, it maintains that its market share in India remains small, with Google’s Android system overwhelmingly dominant in the country.
Despite completing the investigation, CCI’s senior officials have not reviewed the findings and issued a final ruling. If Apple is ultimately found guilty of antitrust violations, it could face significant fines and be forced to alter its business practices in India.
In the News: X’s outage can’t be traced by researchers and Musk alike
