CCPA issues notices to Ola, Uber for alleged unfair pricing practices: Pralhad Joshi

Joshi had emphasised 'zero tolerance for consumer exploitation' and asked CCPA to conduct a thorough enquiry into these allegations.

New Delhi: Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said the Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notices to tech giant Apple Inc and cab aggregators Ola and Uber following consumer complaints about software performance and pricing disparities.

While Apple has been asked to respond to technical issues reported by iPhone users after a recent software update, the CCPA served notices to Ola and Uber over the allegations of differential pricing based on users’ mobile operating systems.

“After receiving complaints regarding performance in #iPhones following the iOS 18+ software update, the department has issued a notice to #Apple,” Joshi said in a social media post.

According to the advisory by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, the ‘high’ severity issue was said to affect Intel-based Mac systems, which include macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices.

Apple has been releasing updates, including iOS 18.0.1 in October to address screen and camera freezing, and the 18.2.1 update for bug fixes.

Joshi had earlier termed differential pricing by Ola and Uber a “prima facie unfair trade practice”. An Uber spokesperson said: “We don't set prices based on a rider’s phone. We look forward to working with CCPA to clear up any misunderstanding.”