In truth, Apple’s major investments in India may spell “iPhone” to the rest of us, but to those involved in its manufacturing supply chain there, the same word spells “profit” — and they are unlikely to want that nascent business beaten quite yet.
We shall see what happens ahead, but the stage does seem set for some wrangling over the content of the new legislation. The proposals specifically target entities with a turnover in excess of $30 billion and at least 10 million local users of digital services — which basically means the big tech firms, whose market power the bill aims to constrain.
Apple wants to build business across the nation of 1.4 billion people and is well on the way to achieving that. As it seeks to reduce its reliance on China, the company is making huge efforts to build manufacturing centers and attract new users in India, so anything likely to make that work more challenging won’t be seen as ideal.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said the company generated record revenues in India during the March quarter, though critics may claim part of this success reflects company control of the apps market on its platforms.
Control of the means of production
Wrong or right, the extent to which big firms control the digital economy is what India’s regulations, just like those elsewhere, seek to constrain. Attempts to dent such market power is very much reflected in the work of India’s Competition Commission, which has already fined Google more than $160 million over app purchases and pre-installed apps. Apple is also undergoing investigation at this time.
The act won’t become law immediately. The government is gathering feedback before submitting the regulations for approval by parliament, and there is no set timeline for that process to take place, according to Reuters.
