Apple’s $1.2 Billion Conspiracy Fine Is Fair Enough
The levy imposed by French trustbusters sets a new record and the tech giant will appeal. But Apple’s behavior that prompted the sanction is hard to defend.
Apple’s store experience was one key element of its renaissance.
Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/BloombergThe temptation with antitrust cases – especially involving a company as high-profile as Apple Inc. – is to identify an ulterior motive. Why have the authorities attacked this particular target? Why is the fine so big? Surely there’s a hidden agenda at work, with broader implications.
Sometimes, though, it’s as simple as a firm breaking the rules and getting caught. France’s antitrust regulator fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) on Monday for conspiring with two distributors to stifle competition and impose unfair conditions on third-party vendors, or "resellers", of products such as the Mac and iPad. The figure is a French record.