India's Antitrust Body Rejects Apple's Bid To Halt Competition Violation Report

India's antitrust body has rejected Apple's request to pause a report from an investigation dating back to 2021, which concluded the company had violated competition laws through its practices in the country.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had ordered a recall of the investigation report in August after Apple raised concerns that the regulator had disclosed sensitive commercial information, which the company claimed could give competitors -- such as Match Group, the owner of Tinder -- an unfair advantage.

Apple argued that certain confidential details should have been redacted, Reuters reported, citing an internal order from the regulator.

The CCI had then directed all parties involved to promptly return the investigation reports and ensure the destruction of any copies in their possession. Following the order, the regulator issued revised versions of the reports.

In November, Apple alleged the primary complainant in the antitrust case, the Indian non-profit Together We Fight Society (TWFS), had not complied with the directive to confirm that the old investigation reports were destroyed, as per an internal order from CCI.

The company requested CCI to take action against TWFS for non-compliance with its order and urged the regulator to withhold the revised report. This request was detailed in the CCI's Nov. 13 order.

"Apple's request to hold the investigation report in abeyance was deemed untenable," the CCI's order stated, allowing the investigation to proceed.

The CCI investigation had concluded that Apple misused its leading position in the iOS App Store market, which negatively affected app developers, users, and other payment service providers.

Rejecting any claims of misconduct, Apple contended that it holds a smaller market share in India, where devices using Google's Android system are more dominant.

Apple has also been instructed to submit its audited financial statements for the fiscal years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, which is part of regulatory procedures to assess potential monetary penalties in the case, according to CCI's internal order.

A final ruling is expected after CCI senior officials review the investigation report.

Apple is facing similar antitrust investigations in other countries too. The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced last week that it might launch a formal investigation to determine whether Apple's mobile ecosystem policies are "holding back innovation."

After a thorough review of the mobile browser market, the CMA found that it was not working well for U.K. businesses and phone users, with the main concern being Apple's policies, which controlled how mobile browsers functioned on their devices. The CMA's findings concluded that Apple's rules prevent competitors from offering new, innovative features that could benefit consumers.

"Markets work best when rival businesses are able to develop and bring innovative options to consumers," Margot Daly, chair of the CMA's independent inquiry group, said. "Through our investigation, we have provisionally found that competition between different mobile browsers is not working well and this is holding back innovation in the U.K."