Google and Apple face anti-competition complaint in Mexico

Apple and Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google said on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) on Friday that they face an investigation for anti-competitive practices in Mexico after the country's former telecommunications chief filed a complaint.

The complaint was filed yesterday with Mexico's telecommunications regulator IFT by Mony de Swaan Addati, who once headed the former telecommunications federation and was later replaced by IFT. https://twitter.com/HarithaPusarla/status/1568637710533021698 In his complaint, Addati accuses Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google of "completely blocking competition" by "taking advantage of their monopoly in app stores to use their payment processing systems for in-app purchases." De Swaan Addati said in an online statement that the Google Play Store and Apple Store charge 15%-20% commission, leading to price inflation. Google declined to comment. Apple and IFT were not immediately available for comment. Lawsuits and complaints against the two companies' app store rules in several countries in recent years have led Google to lower fees and Apple to relax rules, but some app developers and other critics say more changes are needed. De Swaan Addati added that Mexico's competition regulator rejected his request to open an investigation into the companies, so he took his case to the IFT. "I have full confidence that (the IFT) will investigate and use its powers in line with international best practices to make these companies stop abusing their market power to the detriment of developers and consumers," he said. According to data firm Statista, it is estimated that more than 30 million smartphones were sold in Mexico last year. Google's Android has the largest market share in Mexico, with 77% penetration, according to the latest data from Statcounter. Apple is also facing scrutiny elsewhere in the region after Brazilian regulators banned the sale of iPhones without chargers earlier this week. Follow Global Economic Developments on Social Media! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Facebook account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Instagram account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Twitter account!