Apple reported as a monopoly for the first time in China

Apple has been reported for the abuse of its market dominance, reports The Beijing News.

Apple reported as a monopoly to take apps off shelves. [Photo: IC] 

The US Tech giant has been accused by the Beijing Dare & Sure Law Firm of deal refusals, differential treatment, and conditional deals. It's the first time Apple has been subject to an anti-monopoly report in China. As yet the company has not responded to the accusations.

The complaints focus on Apple's removal of certain apps and taking commission on sales up to 30%. Apple has removed more than 100 thousand apps from its App Store since the second half of 2016. In June this year, Apple explained that it was removing some useless and illegal apps to provide users with the best and safest ones. However, the law firm says the App Store has an absolutely dominant position in China's market and that the company had no justification taking apps off shelves.

"Apple deducts 30% commission from some developers, while it asks others for less based on the same service," says Lin Wei, a lawyer in Dare & Sure Law Firm, "It's not reasonable to do so and Apple hasn't consulted with developers."

The report also refers to differences in the way Apple treats complaints from the U.S. and China, as well as conditional deals such as forbidding third-party in-app payments.

The law firm has called on law enforcement agencies to investigate the case, prevent Apple's illegal activities and impose administrative punishments.

In recent years, Apple has been punished for breaking laws on several occasions. China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body, has conducted a number of investigations into multinational corporations involved in monopoly activities.