Apple received a complaint from Latin America e-commerce and fintech company MercadoLibre that alleges the company for violating anti-competitive practices. The complaint was filed with antitrust regulators in one of the company's biggest markets, Brazil and Mexico.
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NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 02: An Apple store stands in lower Manhattan on August 2, 2018 in New York City. On Thursday the technology company and iPhone maker became the first American public company to cross $1 trillion in value. Apple stock is up more than 20% this year.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 02: An Apple store stands in lower Manhattan on August 2, 2018 in New York City. On Thursday the technology company and iPhone maker became the first American public company to cross $1 trillion in value. Apple stock is up more than 20% this year.
Violating Anti-competitive Practices
In a filed complaint with antitrust regulators, Latin American e-commerce and fintech company MercadoLibre alleged Apple for violating anti-competitive practices in its largest markets of Brazil and Mexico, Bloomberg reported.
Apple has been prohibiting the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases like movies, music, video games, books, and written content. This move affects developers as it leads to higher prices because of the large commissions that the company charges.
Legal and Public Affairs Senior Vice President Franco Benedetti stated, "This clearly harms its competitors unless they are integrated digital giants themselves, who may even benefit from this artificial tilt towards integrated ecosystems."
When asked if MercadoLibre would consider making the same move against Alphabet Inc.'s Google, the company stated that they were also not comfortable with Google's policies. But as Reuters reported, the company will be focusing first on its complaints against Apple.
Other Complaints
This complaint adds to several lawsuits and antitrust scrutiny that Apple received this year. A requirement from Apple for developers to use its own payment system was the root of these cases, as it helps Apple to receive a commission for apps on its platforms.
"We're going a step further from what other agencies had said by questioning Apple's monopoly to distribute third-party digital content. We're a marketplace for physical goods, but we're also interested in becoming a marketplace for digital goods," Benedetti added.
Apple also faced similar allegations in a United States court trial last year. This concluded with a judge finding out that the company did not violate the antitrust law based on its rules that obtains security benefits for users outweighing any risks to app developers.
Last June, Apple faced an investigation regarding antitrust when United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority questioned the company on how much control they have over the mobile industry. According to the study, Apple has a strong duopoly on the mobile ecosystem. This allowed the company to stranglehold the market and compromise OS systems, mobile web browsers, and app stores.
This was also the same month that Apple was accused of abusing market dominance by misleading its users. Consumer Rights Campaigner Justin Gutman pressed charges against the company regarding iPhone throttling. As per the claims, Apple has taken advantage of the software update to intentionally slow down older iOS devices to make way for the new generations.
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