Amazon and Apple were just jointly fined nearly 200m euros by the Spanish antitrust agency Comision Nacional De Los Mercados Y La Competencia (CNMC). 194.1 million euro fine, Apple was fined 143.6 million euros and Amazon 50.5 million euros. CNMC examined whether companies engaged in anti-competitive practices. After two years of investigation, CNMC has finally found evidence to support their claims.
The Apple-Amazon deal that sparked the investigation was intended to limit sales of Apple and Beats products to authorized retailers. The agreement covered several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and India.and led to the creation of an official Apple Store on Amazon. In all these countries, More than 90% of Apple sellers on Amazon have their stores removed Following the deal, which significantly reduced competition and increased the prices of Apple devices sold on the platform.
Amazon and Apple deny the accusations
” We reject CNMC’s suggestion that Amazon benefits from the exclusion of sellers from its market, because our business model is based precisely on the success of companies selling through Amazon. Amazon said in a statement to Reuters.
Apple and Amazon said the deal benefits consumers. it protects buyers from counterfeit products and increases the number and depth of discounts offered to customers. This reminds us of the two giants’ defense in another lawsuit where the two giants were already accused of inflating iPhone and iPad prices on the e-commerce site.
Both companies have already said they will appeal the decision and have two months to do so. Therefore, we will have to wait for the new verdict of the judges to find out if Apple and Amazon are really guilty.
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