Italian antitrust watchdog fines Amazon and Apple €200m
Companies say fines are unjustified as use of selected resellers is to stamp out counterfeit sales
23 November 2021 - 21:34
byGianluca Semeraro and Elvira Pollina
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Milan — Italy’s antitrust authority has fined US tech giants Amazon.com and Apple a total of more than €200m for alleged anticompetitive co-operation 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.it, the watchdog said, adding that this was in violation of EU rules and affected competition on prices.
Both Apple and Amazon said they plan to appeal against the fines.
The authority imposed a fine of €68.7m on Amazon and €134.5m on Apple, ordering the companies to end the restrictions to give retailers of genuine Apple and Beats products access to Amazon it in a non-discriminatory manner.
“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,” Apple said, denying any wrongdoing.
In a separate statement Amazon said it strongly disagreed with the decision of the Italian authority and that the proposed fine was “disproportionate and unjustified”.
“We reject the suggestion that Amazon benefits by excluding sellers from our store, since our business model relies on their success. As a result of the agreement, Italian customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, benefiting from a catalogue that more than doubled, with better deals and faster shipping,” Amazon said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Italian antitrust watchdog fines Amazon and Apple €200m
Companies say fines are unjustified as use of selected resellers is to stamp out counterfeit sales
Milan — Italy’s antitrust authority has fined US tech giants Amazon.com and Apple a total of more than €200m for alleged anticompetitive co-operation 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.it, the watchdog said, adding that this was in violation of EU rules and affected competition on prices.
Both Apple and Amazon said they plan to appeal against the fines.
The authority imposed a fine of €68.7m on Amazon and €134.5m on Apple, ordering the companies to end the restrictions to give retailers of genuine Apple and Beats products access to Amazon it in a non-discriminatory manner.
“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,” Apple said, denying any wrongdoing.
In a separate statement Amazon said it strongly disagreed with the decision of the Italian authority and that the proposed fine was “disproportionate and unjustified”.
“We reject the suggestion that Amazon benefits by excluding sellers from our store, since our business model relies on their success. As a result of the agreement, Italian customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, benefiting from a catalogue that more than doubled, with better deals and faster shipping,” Amazon said.
Reuters
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