Apple's Report Recall in India Antitrust and Confidentiality Issues

TapTechNews August 13th news, Reuters reported that on August 7th, the Indian antitrust agency issued a very unusual recall order, requiring the withdrawal of an investigation report regarding Apple's violation of competition laws.

In simple terms, the business secrets of Apple Inc. are involved in this investigation report, and the Indian regulatory agency had previously sent it to a series of competitors including the parent company of Tinder, Match.

Apple expressed dissatisfaction some time ago and demanded that the regulatory agency recall and revoke these reports. Regarding this recall, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that the confidentiality of such information must be maintained to ensure that no unauthorized disclosure occurs.

This move will extend a procedure that started in 2021 but was delayed for various reasons. The core is that Apple is suspected of abusing its dominant position in the app market, forcing developers to use its in-app purchase system and charging a maximum commission of 30%. (Note: about 1/3).

Although the CCI recall order does not mention which specific confidential information is involved in the relevant report, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Apple is worried about the disclosure of information related to revenue and market share in the Indian app store. Companies that have received the recall order currently include Match and ADIF (TapTechNews note: the company behind the financial giant Paytm), etc.

Three Indian lawyers familiar with the CCI process and a government source with direct knowledge of the situation said that recalling the distributed reports is a very rare thing, and the information considered confidential needs to be modified. One lawyer who did not want to be named said, This is unheard of... We expect a delay of two to three months.