Apple fined record $1.2 billion for anticompetitive behavior in France, says it will appeal
Less than one month after being fined €25 million ($27.9 million) for the iPhone battery throttling debacle which was deemed to be a form of forced obsolescence, Apple has today been served a record-breaking €1.1 billion ($1.23 billion) fine (via Reuters) in France over anti-competitive behavior.
The decision from French authorities comes after several years of investigations. Apple is understood to have created illegal arrangements within its distribution network and abused the economic dependence of independent resellers.
The fine is based specifically on Apple’s business arrangements with two wholesalers, Tech Data and Ingram Micro, which had reached agreements with Apple that guaranteed they wouldn’t compete with each other.
The relationship effectively fixed prices and both wholesalers have also been fined for their role. Tech Data has been fined €76.1 million ($85 million) and Ingram Micro has been fined €62.9 million ($70.3 million), to be precise.
In response to the fine by French Authorities, Apple told CNBC that the recent decision is “disheartening.” It further claims the ruling “relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards thirty years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries.
Apple says it strongly disagrees with the outcome and plans to appeal the case.
The decision from French authorities comes after several years of investigations. Apple is understood to have created illegal arrangements within its distribution network and abused the economic dependence of independent resellers.
The fine is based specifically on Apple’s business arrangements with two wholesalers, Tech Data and Ingram Micro, which had reached agreements with Apple that guaranteed they wouldn’t compete with each other.
The relationship effectively fixed prices and both wholesalers have also been fined for their role. Tech Data has been fined €76.1 million ($85 million) and Ingram Micro has been fined €62.9 million ($70.3 million), to be precise.
In response to the fine by French Authorities, Apple told CNBC that the recent decision is “disheartening.” It further claims the ruling “relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards thirty years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries.
Apple says it strongly disagrees with the outcome and plans to appeal the case.
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