Apple To Be Fined By French Watchdog Over Anti-Competitive Behavior, Report Says

A French competition watchdog is set to slap Apple with a huge fine on Monday over its alleged anti-competitive behavior, a report says.

France's competition watchdog Autorité de la Concurrence is set to fine Cupertino tech giant Apple on Monday for alleged anti-competitive behavior, two sources with knowledge about the matter told Politico Europe. The sources did not elaborate on the case, but said the iPhone maker included illegal restrictions in its contracts with wholesalers.

Per the report, the French competition watchdog started conducting its investigation after one of Apple's premium resellers, eBizcuss.com, lodged a complaint in April 2012. The Autorité looked into the iPhone maker and three of its wholesalers –Tech Data, Ingram Micro and Virgin Mobile– and discovered that the Cupertino tech giant entered into illegal agreements with them.

The illegal agreements were at the expense of eBizcuss.com and other premium resellers, the report said. eBizcuss.com, for its part, also sought relief for damages before a French court.

Apple tried to slow down the watchdog's investigation by contesting the legality of the raids it conducted during dawn in 2013. In 2018, French courts, however, concluded that the watchdog's searches were legal.

One of Politico Europe's sources did not mention just how much the antitrust watchdog will demand Apple to pay, but it is expected to be one of the biggest fines that the competition watchdog has ever set. A third source speaking with Politico confirmed the report, saying the decision to penalize Apple is “imminent.”

Not the first time

This is not the first time Apple sat in the crosshairs of antittrust companies. Just last month, France's Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), also a French competition and fraud watchdog, fined the Cupertino tech giant for deliberately slowing down older iPhone models without informing users and acquiring consent.

The watchdog fined Apple 25 million euros (about $27 million USD) for the act of slowing down older handsets. The iPhone maker said it's intention was to help prevent the devices from shutting down once the battery level drops to a certain threshold, so that they can still be used.

While the intention was to help iPhones remain functional, it's a fact that the devices will perform badly compared to when they aren't slowed down – apps take a longer time to launch, the screen becomes darker even when brightness levels are up, the speakers will have lower volume levels, and so on.