French Regulators Set to Levy Fine Against Apple for Anticompetitive Behavior

France's competition authority is set to fine Apple next Monday for anticompetitive behavior in its distribution and sales network, reports Reuters.

applestorefrance
Specific details about the fine and the fine amount are expected to be announced next week, and there's no word yet on just how much Apple will owe.

Apple in its October earnings call said that France's competition authority had alleged that some aspects of its sales and distribution practices were in violation of French law, but did not provide details on which aspects of its business were under investigation.

In June 2019, the French Competition Authority ("FCA") issued a report alleging that aspects of the Company's sales and distribution practices in France violate French competition law. The Company vigorously disagrees with the allegations, and a hearing of arguments was held before the FCA on October 15, 2019. The Company is awaiting the decision of the FCA, which may include a fine.

Apple earlier this year was fined 25 million euros by French consumer fraud group DGCCRF for intentionally slowing down iPhone 6, ‌iPhone‌ SE, and ‌iPhone‌ 7 models with the power management software that was meant to prevent older iPhones with degraded batteries from shutting down during times of peak power usage.

Tag: France

Popular Stories

iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Report Reveals Internal Chaos Behind Apple's Siri Failure

Thursday April 10, 2025 7:15 am PDT by
A new report from The Information today reveals much of the internal turmoil behind Apple Intelligence's revamped version of Siri. Apple apparently weighed up multiple options for the backend of Apple Intelligence. One initial idea was to build both small and large language models, dubbed "Mini Mouse" and "Mighty Mouse," to run locally on iPhones and in the cloud, respectively. Siri's...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

Waiting for the Perfect MacBook Pro? 2026 Might Be the Year

Thursday April 10, 2025 4:19 am PDT by
Apple in October 2024 overhauled its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display changes, and more. That's quite a lot of updates in one go, but if you think this means a further major refresh for the MacBook Pro is now several years away, think again. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said he expects only a small...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: New iOS 19, iPhone 17, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 Leaks

Friday April 11, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we catch up on the latest iOS 19 and watchOS 12 rumors, upcoming devices, and more. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Detailed new renders from leaker Jon Prosser claim to provide the best look yet at the complete redesign rumored to arrive in iOS 19, showing more rounded elements, lighting effects, translucency, and...
Alleged iOS 19 Icons Front Page Tech

iOS 19 Leak Reveals Alleged New Design With Rounder App Icons, Floating Tab Bar, and More

Monday April 7, 2025 3:13 pm PDT by
YouTube channel Front Page Tech is back today with another video that provides a closer look at iOS 19's alleged design changes. The video contains re-created renders of iOS 19, which are allegedly based on real footage of the software update, provided by sources within Apple. Overall, iOS 19 is expected to have a more glass-like, visionOS-inspired design, with added translucency for user...
Apple Northbrook

Apple Store in Chicago Area Permanently Closing Later This Month

Wednesday April 9, 2025 9:56 am PDT by
Apple will be permanently closing its store at the Northbrook Court shopping mall in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook on April 26, the company has announced. Apple has added the following notice to the store's web page:Thank you Northbook. Apple Northbrook is closing on April 26 at 7pm. We're still here for you. Please visit apple.com/retail to find your nearest store.Apple Northbrook opened ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Includes Two Changes So Far

Wednesday April 9, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 18.5 last week, and so far the software update includes only two minor changes. The changes are in the Mail and Settings apps. In the Mail app, you can now easily turn off contact photos directly within the app, by tapping on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner. In the Settings app, there is some new AppleCare+ information. For ...
apple intelligence black

NYT: Apple's AI Struggles Began with 2023 Chip Budget Dispute

Friday April 11, 2025 4:33 am PDT by
Apple's current struggles with Apple Intelligence and Siri began in early 2023 when AI head John Giannandrea sought approval from CEO Tim Cook to purchase more AI chips for development, according to a new report from The New York Times. Cook initially approved doubling the team's chip budget, but CFO Luca Maestri reportedly reduced the increase to less than half that amount, and instead...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 18.8-Inch Foldable Device to Enter Mass Production in Late 2026

Thursday April 10, 2025 1:33 am PDT by
Along with an iPhone "Fold," Apple is believed to be working on a larger foldable device that's somewhere around 19 inches, and one analyst suggests it could arrive as soon as late next year alongside Apple's rumored foldable iPhone. In a new research note covering likely post-tariff scenarios for Apple, investment firm GF Securities' lead analyst Jeff Pu says that both 18.8-inch and...

Top Rated Comments

Alan Wynn Avatar
66 months ago

Dunno. I do think Apple are anti competitive though.
The Appstore is a great example.
Funny, I think the App Store is a great example of competition at work. Consumers have two choices Apple’s walled garden and Android’s free for all.

iOS apps especially. For Mac apps, I ALWAYS buy the non App Store version.
On the other hand, I always try to buy the Mac App Store version. I like to be able to download it to any Mac I own and take advantage of family sharing for those apps that support it. Such a better experience than having to create credentials on every store for every product, worrying not just about their product, but their processes for keeping my information safe, etc.

Another great competitive choice!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miniyou64 Avatar
66 months ago
Why should a for profit company not be anticompetitive? Ridiculous. What competition do the French regulators have?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
entropys Avatar
66 months ago
In the eyes of French regulators, Apple‘ greatest crime is it is not French.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Seoras Avatar
66 months ago
I just don't get this hatred of Apple's walled garden and locked app store. Before the age of the smart phone we were in the age of the PCs which were crippled with virus protection software, constantly needing updates that slowed down even the fastest of machines.
A walled garden, with an App store that requires developers to follow rules and go through a review process, makes for a system that doesn't need bloatware security from a 3rd party.
I do ALL my banking now on my iPhone because I trust it.
Damn sure I wouldn't do it on an Android. "But, but I have to have root access to MY smart phone, because it is MINE!"
Good for you...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abhibeckert Avatar
66 months ago
Last I checked, Android apps don't work on iOS devices so it's not an alternative.
Mac apps don’t work on Windows and nobody was ever fined over that. You can’t play blue ray movies on a DVD player either.

Walled gardens in computing have been around forever - try selling a game for nintendo hardware without going through them for example. It’s perfectly legal.

Why would phones be any different?

This would be something else - I expect it has to do with hardware sales and the terms of some contract Apple makes everyone sign.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bgalakazam Avatar
66 months ago
These socialist policies and rulings will just drive Apple prices overseas up. If they don’t like Apple, don’t buy it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)