Apple fined USD 1.23 billion over market tampering in France

Apple got hit with USD 1.23 billion fine by the Autorite de la Concurrence due to market tampering in France.

Apple receives USD 1.23 billion fine

USD 1.23 billion fine for Apple

This is with regards to Apple preventing its distributors Tech Data and Ingram Micro from lowering their prices.

The verdict is a follow up to a complaint filed back in 2012 wherein a reseller complained that the wholesalers were scheming with Apple and not competing with each other.

Apple fined USD 1.23 billion over market tampering in France

Autorite de la Concurrence said that Apple was treating partners unfairly by limiting their supply including select Apple devices compared to its own stores. This combined with the lack of competition meant that pricing was identical across almost half of the retail market.

Apple says that the decision was disheartening and said that the company will file for an appeal. The company also said that the verdict relates to practices from over 10 years ago and ignores 30 years of legal precedent.

This is by far the biggest fine given by the Autorite de la Concurrence.

What do you guys think?

Source: GSMArena