2023-07-18 22:53:09
The two groups “have agreed to include a number of clauses in the contracts governing” the sale of Apple products by Amazon “which have restricted competition”, justified in a press release the National Commission for Markets and competition (CNMC). The fine imposed on Apple amounts in detail to 143.6 million euros and that imposed on Amazon to 50.5 million euros. In a press release, the brand with the bitten apple says “plan to appeal the court’s decision to the High Court of Spain”.
According to the CNMC, these practices stem from two contracts signed in October 2018 in order to “modify the sales dynamic of Apple products on the Amazon Spain website”, and which penalized both Apple’s competitors and certain resellers of apple brand products.
Under these contracts, “only a certain number of resellers designated by Apple could sell Apple-branded products via the Amazon Spain website”, details in its press release the body responsible for enforcing competition law. in Spain. These agreements “limited the possibility for Apple’s competitors to buy advertising space on Amazon’s site in Spain to offer their products”, which “directly harmed consumers by limiting their ability to discover new brands. “, adds the press release.
An economic punishment that is not unprecedented
In its counter-offensive press release, the Cupertino company claims to have implemented this system to fight against fake Apple products. “To protect users from the security, safety and quality risks of counterfeit products, we have implemented rules that have effectively reduced counterfeiting,” she says. “As well as dedicated teams around the world who work tirelessly with traders, law enforcement and customs officers to ensure our very high standards are met.”
Apple and Amazon, like all tech giants, have been fined several times in recent years in Europe for non-compliance with competition law. In Italy, Amazon was fined 1.128 billion euros in December 2021. In France, a fine of 371.6 million euros was imposed on Apple in October 2022.
After years of chasing in vain after infringements in endless legal proceedings, the European Union agreed in March 2022 on new legislation, the Regulation on digital markets, to put an end to the abuse of a dominant position by the giants of the digital. This new regulation, known as “DMA”, will allow Brussels to act upstream by imposing on the most powerful players rules to be respected under penalty of dissuasive fines. The objective is to act before abusive behavior has destroyed competition.
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