Apple to Appeal EUR1.1 Billion French Competition Authority Fine
March 16 2020 - 8:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Mauro Orru
The French Competition Authority said Monday that it has imposed
a fine of 1.1 billion euros ($1.22 billion) on Apple Inc. for
anticompetitive practices in its distribution network and the
"abuse of economic dependence" of its independent resellers. Apple
said it strongly disagreed with the fine and planned to appeal.
"The French Competition Authority's decision is disheartening,"
a spokesman for Apple told Dow Jones. "It relates to practices from
over a decade ago and discarded thirty years of legal precedent
that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause
chaos for companies across all industries."
The authority also fined Tech Data Corp and Ingram Micro--two
Apple wholesalers--EUR76.1 million and EUR62.9 million respectively
in connection with anticompetitive practices in the distribution
network.
Isabelle de Silva, president of the FCA, said: "Apple and its
two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from
competing with each other, sterilizing the wholesale market for
Apple products."
The fine comes at a critical moment for the technology giant
with Apple and the tech industry grappling with the consequences of
the coronavirus pandemic.
Apple said the past week that it would close all its retail
stores outside Greater China until March 27 in light of the
worsening spread of the virus.
The company had previously warned that it doesn't expect to meet
revenue guidance for the current quarter of between $63 billion and
$67 billion as the coronavirus limited iPhone production for
world-wide sales and curtailed demand for its products in
China.
The measure adopted by the FCA could add further pressure to
already strained relations between the European Union and the U.S.
after high-profile U.S. companies became the center of focus of the
EU antitrust enforcer.
Alphabet Inc.'s Google is seeking to overturn three antitrust
rulings it lost against the EU that have totaled more than $9
billion in fines.
Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com; @MauroOrru94
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 16, 2020 08:02 ET (12:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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