Brazil’s CADE Investigates Apple; Orders Ending Constraints On In-App Payments

Brazil’s CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) is investigating Apple after a complaint was filed against it by Latin America e-commerce giant MercadoLibre.

The antitrust regulator stated that Apple must lift restrictions on payment methods for in-app purchases, otherwise, it would be penalized 250,000 real ($43,000) fine per day.

In 2022, MercadoLibre complained in Brazil and Mexico, accusing the tech giant of imposing a series of restrictions on the distribution of digital goods and in-app purchases, including banning apps from distributing third-party digital goods and services including movies, music, video games, books and written content.

MercadoLibre criticized the California company for expecting developers offering digital goods or services within apps, to use Apple's payment system and barring them from redirecting buyers to their websites.

The watchdog ruled that Apple must allow app developers to add tools so that customers could purchase their services or products outside the app. For instance, through hyperlinks to external websites. It also directed Apple to allow app developers to offer other in-app payment processing options besides the one owned by Apple.