Apple has been found guilty of fixing the price of iPhones in Russia, where the local Apple subsidiary dictated the minimum price at which businesses were allowed to sell its devices. If retailers tried to discount an iPhone, Apple would send a formal request to restore the dictated price, and in failing to respond, would result in a termination of contract.
Apple has reportedly been doing this for quite some time, from the iPhone 5 through to the iPhone 6s. Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service, responsible for the investigation, says it has not found signs of Apple coordinating the prices of the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus handset.
The official regulators also stated that Apple cooperated fully with the investigation and has now ended its price fixing scheme. Whilst Apple has three months to appeal the court ruling, it could face a financial penalty of 15% of its Russian sales if it doesn't succeed.
This isn't the first time Russia has brought an antitrust lawsuit against a major technology company: Google previously faced fines of $6.75 million for its anti-competitive business strategy. Russia has also recently made censorship demands towards Apple, requesting it to remove LinkedIn from the App Store.
Source: The Federal Antimonopoly Service via The Verge | Apple image via Reuters
5 Comments - Add comment