Amazon, Apple Probed by Germany Over Online Sales Curbs
- Federal Cartel Office investigates brand-product agreements
- Banning other brand product sellers may violate antitrust law
Photographer: Thomas Trutschel/Getty Images
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Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. face German antitrust scrutiny over a policy that excludes independent sellers of brand products on the online market place.
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, the country’s antitrust regulator, is probing both companies over a policy at Amazon called “brandgating,” the authority said in an emailed statement. The policy allows makers of branded products such as iPhones to have independent sellers removed from the platform as long as Amazon can sell the items, according to the statement.