Apple says it is to appeal a €1.2bn (£897m) fine imposed by regulators in France.
The country’s Competition Authority found the tech firm imposed prices on re-sellers in the country so they were
aligned with those charged by Apple’s own shops, or online operations.
The ruling concluded: “Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete with each other and to prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilising the wholesale market for Apple products.”
The wrongdoing did not involve iPhones but iPads and other Apple products, the watchdog said, accusing the company of “abusively” exploiting distributors’ dependence on Apple.
Apple responded: “The French competition authority’s decision is disheartening.”
The statement said of the ruling: “It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards 30 years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries.”
The fine was the biggest issued by the regulator to date.
It marked the latest financial penalty to be imposed on US tech companies as European regulators take aim at a slew of concerns including market dominance, tax and privacy.
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