Spain freezes tech giants’ fines

Spain’s high court suspended the €194 million ($209 million) fines that the local antitrust watchdog, CNMC, levied on Amazon and Apple in July. This suspension is in effect while the tech giants appeal the decision, according to an Amazon spokesperson, Reuters reported.

The CNMC had fined Amazon and Apple for working together to stop any dealer other than Amazon from selling Apple products on Amazon’s Spanish websites.

Apple received a fine of €143.6 million and Amazon €50.5 million, both of which stated they would appeal. The Amazon spokesperson explained that the court’s decision to suspend the payment is part of the appeal process.

Amazon noted in July that the agreement with Apple led to an increase in discounts on Apple devices on Amazon’s websites.

The suspension of the fine does not predict whether the court will rule for or against the tech giants, while Apple has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The CNMC stated that a contract, signed in October 2018, made Amazon an authorised Apple dealer on its Spanish websites. 

After these contracts, Amazon limited the ability of EU retailers outside Spain to reach Spanish customers.

It also restricted the ads that Apple’s competitors could place on its website when users searched for Apple products.

Authorities in Italy opened a similar case against the two companies but later dropped it.