Apple fined €1.1 billion for price fixing
March 16, 2020
French regulators fined US tech giant Apple €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) on Monday for illegal price fixing.
The Competition Authority said Apple had struck deals with resellers to align prices on iPads and some other products. The deal meant resellers could not offer sales or discounts on the products, hurting consumers.
It was the biggest ever fine doled out by the agency.
Two so-called premium' Apple resellers in France, Tech Data and Ingram Micro, were also fined a total of €139 million.
The agency said "Apple abusively exploited" distributors' dependence on the company and "prevented competition among different Apple distribution channels.''
Apple announced that it would appeal the decision.
The case began in 2012 when an Apple exclusive retailer complained that Apple was abusing its dominant position to favor its own branches.
At the beginning of February,Apple agreed to pay €25 million in France over accusations of planned product death.
Apple said the case related to business practices more than a decade old and said it would appeal.
"Apple has been operating in France for over 40 years and we are proud of our many contributions to job creation and economic development. Our investment and innovation supports over 240,000 jobs across the country. - The French Competition Authority's decision is disheartening," it said in a statement.
aw/ (dpa, AP, AFP)