Apple wins appeal to cut its $1.2 billion French antitrust fine by two-thirds
In 2020, Apple was fined a record €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion at the time) in France for antitrust practices with two wholesalers. The Paris Court of Appeal today reduced the fine by two-thirds to just 371.6 million euros ($364.6 million today), Reuters reported. . The court ruled that the initial fine was "disproportionate" and reduced it to an amount "sufficient to ensure that the sanctions are punitive and dissuasive".
According to the original complaint, Apple and its channel partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data have agreed not to compete, "thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products." This forced other high-end distributors to maintain high prices to match those of the integrated distributors. Apple immediately announced its intention to appeal the ruling, calling it "disheartening" and saying it set aside 30 years of legal precedent in France.
Apple is still not satisfied, telling Bloomberg that it plans to file another appeal in France's highest court to remove the fine entirely. The French Competition Authority is also considering appealing. "We would like to reaffirm our desire to guarantee the dissuasive nature of our sanctions, in particular when it comes to market players of the size of [big tech]", declared Virginie Guin, director of communication of the Authority.
The cut is part of an ongoing battle between France and the EU and Silicon Valley tech companies. Google was fined 500 million euros last year for its information dominance in France and recently lost an appeal in a 4.34 billion euro antitrust case in the EU over its dominance of the Android system, although the fine was reduced to 4.12 billion euros ($4.04 billion).
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.
In 2020, Apple was fined a record €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion at the time) in France for antitrust practices with two wholesalers. The Paris Court of Appeal today reduced the fine by two-thirds to just 371.6 million euros ($364.6 million today), Reuters reported. . The court ruled that the initial fine was "disproportionate" and reduced it to an amount "sufficient to ensure that the sanctions are punitive and dissuasive".
According to the original complaint, Apple and its channel partners Ingram Micro and Tech Data have agreed not to compete, "thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products." This forced other high-end distributors to maintain high prices to match those of the integrated distributors. Apple immediately announced its intention to appeal the ruling, calling it "disheartening" and saying it set aside 30 years of legal precedent in France.
Apple is still not satisfied, telling Bloomberg that it plans to file another appeal in France's highest court to remove the fine entirely. The French Competition Authority is also considering appealing. "We would like to reaffirm our desire to guarantee the dissuasive nature of our sanctions, in particular when it comes to market players of the size of [big tech]", declared Virginie Guin, director of communication of the Authority.
The cut is part of an ongoing battle between France and the EU and Silicon Valley tech companies. Google was fined 500 million euros last year for its information dominance in France and recently lost an appeal in a 4.34 billion euro antitrust case in the EU over its dominance of the Android system, although the fine was reduced to 4.12 billion euros ($4.04 billion).
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.
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