Apple appears to have secured a major discount on its 1.1 billion euro antitrust fine in France. The company has successfully had the fine reduced to 372 million euros by a French court, according to a new report.
Reuters is the first to report on the substantially reduced penalty. Citing “two sources with knowledge of the matter,” the report said three factors are responsible for the significantly lower fine.
The fixed-pricing charge has reportedly been thrown out and the time scope of another charge has been reduced. Finally, the court “decided to significantly lower the rate applied to calculate the overall fine,” Reuters reported.
Apple will also appeal the remaining fine, the company told Reuters.
The 1.1 billion euro fine was set in March 2020 after a French court found Apple guilty of anticompetitive monopoly practices. The company was accused of creating illegal agreements with its distribution network. Fines were also applied to Apple’s wholesaler partners Tech Data and Ingram Micro.
The record-breaking fine was attributed to years of alleged malpractice. Apple claimed the fine was politically motivated. Separately, Apple has also been under fire in France over App Store ads and practices.
