Apple and Amazon have been collectively handed a fine of over 200 million euros ($225 million) by Italy’s antitrust authority for anti-competitive cooperation related to the sale of Apple and Beats products.
A 2018 agreement between the two companies allowed only selected authorized resellers to sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon Italy — a violation of the European Union rules. Due to this, Italy’s competition watchdog has slapped a fine of 68.7 million euros on Amazon and 134.5 million on Apple. It has also ordered both companies to do away with the restriction and allow all authorized retailers to sell Apple and Beats products on the e-commerce platform.
The agreement aimed to limit the cross-border sale of Apple and Beats products through Amazon.
Apple plans to appeal against the fine and has already issued a statement on the matter:
“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.”
The investigation by Italy’s watchdog has also caught the attention of the anti-competitive authorities in Germany and Spain, who have launched similar investigations of their own.