'Urgent Need' To Regulate Apple, Google's App Store Practices, Says Indian Trade Body

Indian industry body Alliance of Digital India Foundation has called for an "urgent need" to bring regulations for Apple Inc's AAPL App Store and Alphabet Inc's GOOGL GOOG Play Store to ensure "fair competition."

What Happened: In its report, the body said Google-owned Android currently dominates the Indian market with a 95.1% market share, while Apple has a 3.93% share. It highlighted that the companies own a consolidated market share of 99.28% in the worldwide market.

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In a statement, Sijo Kuruvilla George, the Executive Director of ADIF, said, "the dominant position enjoyed by the gatekeepers of the app ecosystem can severely hurt competition and innovation in the market...while also adversely affecting the ecosystem in many ways." 

Apple and Google charge either 15% or 30% commission on the purchase of paid apps and in-app purchases in India; the industry body said, "it is difficult to determine the fair rates of commission."

Why It Matters: The move comes at a time when India's regulatory body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), is already investigating both Apple and Google over their app store policies. 

The Indian Watchdog had earlier found Google's contentious payment billing system for Play Store developers as "unfair and discriminatory."

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Apple shares closed at $140.82, losing 5.64% during the trade on Wednesday, and Alphabet Inc Class A shares shed about 4%.

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