The former director of Mexico’s telecommunications regulator has called out Apple and Alphabet’s flagship entity Google for a recent spate of anti-competitive practices.
Former national telecommunications chief Mony de Swaan Addati formally lodged a complaint with the Instituto Federal de Communicaciones (IFT), the country’s telecommunications regulatory body, on September 8.
In the complaint, de Swaan Addati accused the app markets of both companies of forcing price inflation simply by charging commissions worth between 15% and 20% of each application’s retail price.
The former telecommunications chief previously sought action from the country’s anti-monopoly agency. Still, it denied his request to investigate the two companies, forcing him to bring the case to the IFT’s attention.
De Swaan Addati remarked that he is confident that the IFT will conduct a full investigation and act upon the issue in compliance with global best practices. If it does so, he hopes that both Google and Apple will play the market more fairly to benefit both developers and consumers.
Widespread Use, Numerous Complaints
Last year, data firm Statista predicted that more than 30 million smartphones would be sold throughout Mexico within the year.
Interestingly, Mexico may also be considered Google country, as Android is the mobile operating system of choice for around 77% of the mobile phone-using population.
But both Android and Apple users have complained that the companies have been aggressive concerning charging premiums on several functional, recreational, and lifestyle-centric apps offered through their mobile marketplaces.
The Latest in a Litany of Complaints
De Swaan Addati’s recent filing is just the latest in the growing list of lawsuits and complaints registered against these two companies across the globe.
Several of these forced Google to lower app fees on Google Play, while Apple needed to revise downloading and purchase rules for its App store.
However, many application developers and industry experts feel that these are not enough and that regulators need to put more changes into effect.
On September 6, the Brazilian Justice Ministry fined Apple $2.38 million based on claims that the company was delivering incomplete products to customers as more recent iPhone models are being shipped without battery chargers. The Ministry likewise ordered the company to cancel all sales of the iPhone 12 and most recent models. The sale of any iPhone that doesn’t come with a charger has also been suspended in the country.
