Following a report earlier today about Apple appealing a Brazilian antitrust regulator’s ruling on the App Store, the Brazilian courts decided on Thursday night to overturn the injunction imposed on Apple, which would have forced the company to enable sideloading on iOS for Brazilian users within 20 days.
Apple gets more time to deal with Brazilian regulator’s ruling on App Store
According to a new Valor Econômico report, a Brazilian Federal Court judge has ruled that the decision by Cade, the Brazilian regulator, is “disproportionate and unnecessary.” The judge understood that the measures imposed by the regulator “change, in a sensitive and structural way” Apple’s business operation.
Cade ruled on November 26 that Apple would have 20 days to comply with antitrust legislation, otherwise it would be fined R$250,000 (US$42,000) per day. Apple had previously appealed on the grounds that the changes requested were too complex and would take too long to be made, so the company wouldn’t be able to meet the 20-day deadline.
For the judge, the “technical complexity of the changes and the global regulatory impacts of similar decisions in other regions, such as the European Union, reinforce the need for such changes to be discussed in greater depth.”
In theory, Apple would have to implement in Brazil changes similar to those it already made in the European Union earlier this year, which include allowing App Marketplaces as alternatives to the App Store. In response, Apple said that the Brazilian regulator’s decision “drastically threatens” users’ privacy and security and called it “arbitrary.”
Cade’s investigation began after Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libreaccused Apple of forcing developers offering digital goods or services in their apps to use Apple’s own payment system. Cade is also investigating Apple for the practice of “tying” by imposing anti-competitive terms and conditions on iOS.
Although the judge overturned the injunction, the Brazilian regulator can still appeal and the investigations will continue, which means that Apple could still be forced to enable sideloading in Brazil – although the company has been given more time to deal with the situation.
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