2018 Amazon-Apple Deal Leads to $218 Million Fine in Spain

Spain's $218 million fine hits both Apple and Amazon. The country's antitrust regulator, Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), shared the major details.

Spain's $218 Million Fine Hits Apple, Amazon

(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The Apple logo is displayed on the exterior of an Apple Store on April 23, 2013, in San Francisco, California. Analysts believe that Apple Inc. will report its first quarterly loss in nearly a decade as the company prepares to report first-quarter earnings today after the closing bell.

According to CNN Business, CNMC imposed fines-totaling $218 million (€194.1 million)-against Amazon and Apple.

The Spanish watchdog said that the fines were connected to two contracts signed by both of the companies back in October 2018.

"The two companies restricted without justification the number of sellers of Apple products on the Amazon website in Spain," said CNMC via Engadget.

The Spanish regulator accused Amazon and Apple of preventing other vendors from selling iPhones and other Apple products from the storefront.

CNMC added that Amazon's deal with Apple restricted non-Spanish sellers in the European Union from selling to consumers in the country.

Aside from this, CMNC also accused the two companies of reducing the allowed advertisements of Apple's competitors on the Spanish Amazon website.

CNMC said that the 2018 deals between Amazon and Apple drastically affected the market competition and led to higher online prices for Apple products.

Amazon Defense Its Deals With Apple

(Photo: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)
In this photo illustration, the logo of the Apple computers brand is reflected in the eye of a man looking at a computer screen on May 8, 2006, in London, England. The Beatles record label Apple Corps has lost a high court trademark dispute against technology giant Apple Computer over the use of the Apple logo.

Apple and Amazon defended their 2018 deals, saying that these didn't hurt consumers in Spain. An Amazon spokesperson said that they reject the allegations made by the Spanish regulator.

The official added that the retailer doesn't benefit from excluding sellers from its platform. She added that the success of Amazon heavily relies on the companies selling through its website.

The Amazon representative further explained that consumers even benefitted from the deal because of the discounts they offered on iPhones and other Apple devices.

The gadget maker also defended the 2018 agreements, saying that working with Amazon reduced the number of fake products on its platform.

Apple even claimed that they spend a lot of money just to prevent hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Apple gadgets.

As of writing, CNMC allows the two companies to appeal the antitrust decision. CNMC said that Amazon and Apple both have two months to do this.

If you want to learn more about the latest issue of Amazon and Apple in Spain, you can click here.