Amazon, Apple Handed EUR 200 Million Italian Fine for Alleged Collusion in Product Sales

Apple denied any wrongdoing and said it plans to appeal against the fine.

By Reuters | Updated: 23 November 2021 14:57 IST

Amazon, Apple Handed EUR 200 Million Italian Fine for Alleged Collusion in Product Sales

Contractual provisions meant only selected resellers were allowed to sell Apple, Beats products on Amazon

Highlights

Apple denied any wrongdoing
Apple said it plans to appeal against the fine
Italy's antitrust authority fined Amazon and Apple

Italy's antitrust authority has fined US tech giants Amazon and Apple a total of more than EUR 200 million (roughly Rs. 1,675 crore) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products.

Contractual provisions of a 2018 agreement between the companies meant only selected resellers were allowed to sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon, the competition watchdog said, adding that this was in violation of European Union rules.

The authority imposed a fine of EUR 68.7 million (roughly Rs. 575 crore) on Amazon and EUR 134.5 million (roughly Rs. 1,130 crore) on Apple, ordering the companies to end the restrictions to give retailers of genuine Apple and Beats products access to Amazon in a non-discriminatory manner.

Apple Watch Series 8 CAD Render Leaked: Check It Out

Apple denied any wrongdoing and said it plans to appeal against the fine.

"To ensure our customers purchase genuine products, we work closely with our reseller partners and have dedicated teams of experts around the world who work with law enforcement, customs and merchants to ensure only genuine Apple products are being sold," it said.

An Amazon representative could not be reached for immediate comment.

Apple's Self-Driving Electric Car Said to Debut in 2025

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Can PUBG: New State rival BGMI and PUBG Mobile in the battle royale space? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.