Since December 2022, proceedings against Apple have been pending at the Administrative Council for Economic Defense, Cade. In this case, investigations begin when Mercado Livre denounces the apple of abuse for being dominant in the Brazilian market. According to ML, this position of the US company hinders its business in the country.
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For Mercado Livre, Apple has a clear advantage in the Brazilian market when it comes to distributing apps on the iOS system. In part, this is due to the fact that Apple requires its users to pay for internal purchases of digital services through Apple. store.
As a result, Mercado Livre's businesses, as well as those of other companies, would suffer losses. After all, this measure prevents the sale of digital items on their platforms, as is the case with streaming services, whether music, movies or games. Simply put, the App Store prevents apps from distributing third-party goods and services.
This hinders Mercado Livre because the company now works with the marketing of streaming services such as Disney+, Star+ and HBO Max for free or with discounts. Thus, ML decided to open a series of lawsuits against Apple that are still being processed by the Ministry of Justice.
Apple's response
In response to the accusations, Apple sent a statement to Cade on January 6, 2023, in which it claims that it cannot harm Mercado Livre. According to the company itself, Apple does not have a dominant position in the Brazilian market, since only 20% of smartphones in the country are branded.
In addition, Apple also states that it does not carry out any measures with the intention of harming Mercado Libre's businesses. In any case, Cade should proceed with the investigations, but the expectations are that the result of the processes will take at least two years. Until then, Mercado Livre intends to file complaints in other countries.
