The two contracts the companies signed on October 31, 2018, granting Amazon the status of authorized Apple dealer, included anti-competitive clauses that affected the online market for electronic devices in Spain, CNMC, as the watchdog is known, said in a statement Tuesday. Apple was fined €143.6 million and Amazon €50.5 million . The two companies have two months to appeal the decision. Spokespeople from Apple and Amazon separately said their respective companies intended to appeal the fines.
Following the deal between the two tech giants, the prices of Apple devices sold online rose in Spain, it added. “We reject the suggestion made by CNMC that Amazon benefits from excluding sellers from its marketplace, as our business model hinges precisely on the success of the companies selling through Amazon,” the Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. She added that Apple device buyers benefited from the deal, and the number of discounts on iPads and iPhones had increased.