Italy has fined Amazon and Apple $228 million for an agreement that was found discriminatory against certain retailers on Amazon.it marketplace, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) said on Tuesday
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2021) Italy has fined Amazon and Apple $228 million for an agreement that was found discriminatory against certain retailers on Amazon.it marketplace, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) said on Tuesday.
A review by the regulator revealed the existence of clauses of an agreement concluded on October 31, 2018 that prohibited official and unofficial distributors of Apple and Beats products from using Amazon.it, allowing only Amazon and certain retailers to sell them in this marketplace.
"The intent is to impose a purely quantitative limit on the number of retailers, allowing only Amazon and discriminating entities to operate on Amazon.it. The clauses of the agreement also limited cross-border sales as retailers were discriminated against on the basis of geography. Agreement restrictions have affected the level of discounts offered by third parties on Amazon.it, reducing their size," ICA said in a statement.
Talking about the need to ensure an equal level of competition, ICA notes that Amazon.it accounts for at least 70% of consumer electronics purchases in Italy, of which at least 40% goes through retail distributors who use Amazon as a middleman.
Fines amounted to $77.3 million for the companies of the Amazon group and $151.4 million for Apple. The companies are ordered to lift restrictions by giving Apple and Beats retailers access to Amazon.it on an equal footing.
