France Slashes Apple's Antitrust Penalty By 66%: Report

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  • A French court on Thursday slashed a penalty against iPhone maker Apple Inc AAPL for alleged anti-competitive behavior to €372 million (~$366 million) from €1.1 billion.
  • France's antitrust watchdog slapped a record fine in 2020 for Apple's anti-competitive behavior toward its distribution and retail network, Reuters reports.
  • Also ReadGoogle Suffers Another EU Setback As Top Court Rejects Request To Topple $4.3B Dominance-Abuse Fine
  • Apple allegedly imposed prices on retail premium resellers to align them with those the California firm charges in its shops or on the Internet.
  • The Paris appeals court cut the fine because it decided to drop one of the three main charges related to price-fixing allegations. 
  • The court also decided to significantly lower the rate applied to calculate the fine.
  • The report noted that the French antitrust authority used a high rate in 2020, given Apple's size and financial firepower.
  • Apple had appealed against the original fine.
  • Apple held $48.2 billion in cash and equivalents as of June 25.
  • The Big Tech companies have been courting regulatory attention over their antitrust practices, sometimes amounting to penalties.
  • Price Action: AAPL shares traded lower by 0.21% at $146.10 on the last check Thursday.
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