The anti-trust movement is rising right now, and being one of the tech giants, Apple is squarely in the middle of the storm. After the US, it seems like the movement is gaining steam in other parts of America now. Days after Brazil banned the sales of iPhones shipping without a charging brick, Mexico has now a fresh anti-trust probe opening up over Apple, as well as Google.
A new report by Reuters said that Apple and Google are facing a probe over anti-competitive practices in Mexico. The complaint was filed to the country’s telecom regulatory body El Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, also known as IFT, by Mony de Swaan Addati. Mony de Swaan Addati was previously the head of the telecommunications federation which has since then been replaced by the IFT.
Anti-trust complaint over app store monopolies
The complaint accuses Apple and Google of stunting competition by “taking advantage of their monopoly in app stores to tie use of their own payment processing systems for in-app purchases.” Mony de Swaan Addati also said that the 15-20% commission Google Play Store and the Apple App Store charge forces price inflation for consumers.
Mony de Swaan Addati had previously unsuccessfully tried to make Mexico’s competition regulator investigate the companies. They seem positive that the IFT will open an investigation.
In their official statement, de Swaan Addati said, “I have full confidence that (the IFT) will investigate and exercise its powers – in line with international best practices – so that these companies stop abusing their market power to the detriment of developers and consumers.”
With this investigation, Mexico will join a growing group of countries investigating big tech, including Apple, for unfair practices. Apart from app store cuts, charging bricks and ports are also a part of the larger conversation, in addition to data privacy and advertising. In the meantime, Apple recently upgraded its lineup of the top iPhones with the iPhone 14 series, which doesn’t include a charging brick, and still keeps its proprietary lightning port.