The Competition and Market Authority sanctioned Amazon and Apple for a total of 200 million euros at the end of an investigation, which lasted 16 months, in which it ascertained restrictions on access to the Amazon.it marketplace by of legitimate resellers of Apple and Beats branded products.

The fine is 68.7 million euros for the companies of the e-commerce giant and 134.5 million euros for those of the group based in Cupertino.

In 2018, Apple and Amazon signed a commercial agreement that had the effect of excluding independent retailers who were not affiliated with the "Apple" from the Italian Amazon site.

Such conduct is contrary to European competition rules, harming consumers and some market operators.

According to EU regulations, in fact, distribution systems must be based "on criteria of a qualitative nature only, non-discriminatory and applied equally to all potential retailers".

The Antitrust investigation started in July 2020, after one of the interested economic subjects had filed a complaint.

The authority also ordered the two companies to put an end to the discriminatory behavior and not to repeat the agreement.

The German and Spanish authorities have also initiated similar proceedings.

(Unioneonline / F)

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