Apple accuses India of ‘copy-pasting’ rivals’ claims in antitrust investigation

NEW DELHI, June 29 (Reuters) — Apple accused Indian antitrust investigators of “copy-pasting” claims from rivals and failing to properly conduct its own investigation to conclude the U.S. tech giant had violated competition laws, and called for the findings to be annulled, according to regulatory documents reviewed by Reuters.

The June 25 Apple presentation, which was first reported, marks the sharpest escalation yet in Apple’s battle with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), whose rivals include Tinder owner Match and Indian startups.

In 2024, CCI researchers published a special report stating that Apple’s iOS operating system had engaged in “malicious behavior” on its app platform and mistakenly forced the use of its payment system.

Apple denied the allegations. In his presentation, he said India was a “small player” with a share of less than 6% in the smartphone market and that the investigation’s conclusions were built on claims from competitors rather than CCI’s independent analysis.

Apple has said that “any forced change to Apple’s carefully designed App Store could disrupt its integrated business model” and has opposed any penalties and behavioral remedies that might force it to change its approach.

“Imposition of solutions will create regulatory uncertainty and may deter investments in India’s digital economy,” the company added.

CCI and the head of the investigation did not respond to Reuters’ questions. Apple also did not respond to requests for comment.

Similar arguments from other major companies failed to sway CCI. In 2023, Alphabet’s Google argued in an antitrust case that the CCI’s order risked halting its growth, but the company was later forced to make changes to the way it promotes the Android system that dominates the Indian smartphone market.

Senior officials of the CCI are expected to hold a closed hearing for all parties in the case on July 21.

‘Copy-paste’ allegations

In its presentation, Apple prepared tables claiming that the CCI investigation team did not conduct its own analysis and instead “copy-pasted” many presentations from competitors such as Match, Walmart’s Indian payment app, PhonePe and its Indian rival Paytm.

“The Chief Executive Officer (Chief Executive Officer) made no effort to independently verify or critically evaluate these statements and often repeated them verbatim,” Apple said.

Match, Paytm and PhonePe did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Apple also said the CCI investigation reports “blindly copied” a graph on consumer spending on mobile apps and games globally from the EU’s 2024 ruling against Apple, even though India faces different market conditions.

A Reuters review of the footnotes of the EU order and the India investigation report both found reference to data from Statista, an online research site.

Google also argued in 2023 that Indian investigators had copied parts of the European decision. “We did not cut or copy and paste,” CCI said at the time.

Watchdog says Apple has halted lawsuit

Apple faces antitrust issues around the world, from Europe to the United States.

But the India case comes at a time when Apple is facing multiple supply chain issues, including a data breach at its Indian contract manufacturer Tata.

The watchdog accused Apple of delaying the case for more than two years by failing to respond to the investigation’s findings and filing a parallel challenge to India’s antitrust criminal law, which allows potential fines of up to 10% of company turnover in the previous three years. CCI did not say what Apple revenues might be taken into account, but any fines are likely to reach millions of dollars.

Apple’s presentations show that it has properly presented “Apple’s relevant revenue in India” for fiscal years 2022-24; This data is often used by the observer for penalty calculations.

In the submissions, Apple also argues that authorities did not give the tech firm “a single opportunity to record its statements and provide oral evidence” during the investigation.

According to Apple’s presentation, Google was given several opportunities to defend itself and explain its business model during the Android lawsuit.

“Although desirable, CCI’s investigation team has no legal obligation to hold an oral hearing if it feels it has conclusive evidence,” said Indian antitrust lawyer Gautam Shahi of Dua Associates.

“CCI members will now decide whether to give Apple this opportunity.”

India is emerging as a key market as Apple diversifies iPhone production beyond China; The country will produce 26% of the world’s iPhones in 2026, up from 6% four years ago, according to Counterpoint Research.

If the CCI considers penalties, Apple said mitigating factors should be taken into account, including its “impeccable track record” and the fact that it has exported $51 billion worth of iPhones from India in the last five years.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Kate Mayberry)