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posted by martyb on Monday March 16 2020, @07:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the it-must-be-a-European-thing dept.

Apple fined a record $1.2 billion by French antitrust authorities

French antitrust authorities ordered Apple on Monday to pay a 1.1 billion euro ($1.23 billion) fine for anti-competitive behavior.

The French competition authority said the iPhone-maker was guilty of creating cartels within its distribution network and abusing the economic dependence of its outside resellers.

Two of Apple's wholesalers were also fined for agreeing on prices: Tech Data and Ingram Micro received fines of 76.1 million euros and 62.9 million euros respectively. Both companies were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

The French authority said this penalty — totaling 1.24 billion euros — was the largest ever handed down in one case.

"Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products," said Isabelle de Silva, president of the French Competition Authority.

[ . . . ] Monday's announcement is the second fine that French authorities have imposed on Apple in two months. The regulators hit Apple with a 25 million euro fine in February over its software updates, which were concluded to have slowed down older iPhones.

Maybe they should have kept the headphone jack.


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  • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2020, @09:04PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2020, @09:04PM (#972009)

    a mini-monopoly within it's[sic] own market

    Exactly. Nobody has any right to interfere with that market. If it collapses tomorrow, nobody on the outside will care. So, let it go over the cliff if that is where they want to take it. The minute they acquire any influence outside its own market, then you have a legitimate case, not a minute before. Let the black market rule if the cops get in way!

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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2020, @09:13PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2020, @09:13PM (#972013)

    The sane part of the world doesn't recognize your concept of "private markets". Please, define how a market, in which multiple players interact that also interact with the global public at large, is in any way private?

    The minute they acquire any influence outside its own market

    You mean, like, for example, umm, when they tried to peddle their wares to French consumers? Or are those French consumers suddenly the property of Apple Inc?

    • (Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2020, @09:54PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 16 2020, @09:54PM (#972027)

      Their purchase signifies their consent, nobody forces them. The market remains consensual. Is there something difficult about that?

      Now the best way to handle this is to put all Apple patents/copyrights under a compulsory license, where competitors will have real leverage. These fines are bullshit wrist slapping.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @12:11AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @12:11AM (#972049)

        So you have absolutely no clue about economic monopolies and why they are bad.

        Go back to school, get to Econ 101 at a local community college, then we can probably have a decent discussion.

        • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:04AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 17 2020, @03:04AM (#972082)

          Oh please! Ma Bell, the railroads, and oil companies were monopolies. Your ISP might be a monopoly. Apple, Google, Facebook don't even come close. Even the three networks lost their mojo.

          If you want an Apple, you're buying an Apple. Where is there a problem?

          Like I told you before, you clear the issue up with compulsory licensing, done, ok? And shitcan the speedballs, you're not studying for finals any more.