Brazil Antitrust Body Rules Apple Must Lift Restrictions on In-App Payments

Apple will have 20 days to comply with the measures.

By Reuters | Updated: 26 November 2024 14:01 IST

Brazil Antitrust Body Rules Apple Must Lift Restrictions on In-App Payments

Photo Credit: Reuters

After the 20 day timeline granted to Apple for compliance, it faces daily fine of $43,000

Highlights

Apple has not reacted to the development as yet
MercadoLibre filed complaint against Apple in 2022 in Brazil and Mexico,
Cade ruled that Apple must allow app developers to add more payment ops

Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade said on Monday that Apple must lift restrictions on payment methods for in-app purchases, among other things, as the watchdog moved to proceed with an investigation into a complaint filed by Latin America e-commerce giant MercadoLibre.

Apple in Brazil declined to comment. MercadoLibre did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

MercadoLibre's complaint, filed in 2022 in Brazil and Mexico, accused Apple of imposing a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases, including banning apps from distributing third-party digital goods and services such as movies, music, video games, books and written content.

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In the complaint, MercadoLibre criticized the California tech giant for requiring developers that offer digital goods or services within apps to use Apple's own payment system and stopping them from redirecting buyers to their websites.

Cade ruled that Apple must allow app developers to add tools so customers can buy their services or products outside the app, such as through the use of hyperlinks to external websites.

Another preventive measure is that Apple must allow app developers to offer other in-app payment processing options apart from the one owned by Apple, the regulator added.

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Apple will have 20 days to comply with the measures, Cade said, imposing a 250,000 real (about $43,000 roughly Rs. 36 lakh) fine per day if Apple fails to comply with the demands.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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