Apple and Amazon face antitrust case for inflating iPhone and iPad prices on Amazon platform

A federal judge in Seattle rules that Apple and Amazon must answer in an antitrust case. The tech companies are being sued for artificially inflating the prices of iPhones and iPads on Amazon’s platform.

The tech companies became in november already sued by United States consumers who purchased an iPhone or iPad through Amazon’s platform after January 2019. According to the lawsuit, the agreement between Apple and Amazon to limit the number of third-party Apple sellers on the platform went into effect that year.

In 2018, there would still be 600 Apple resellers active on the platform, a year later they almost all disappeared from Amazon’s website. The prices of Apple products would then fall increased more than 10 percent. In addition, discounts of 20 percent on Apple products would no longer be common, as was the case before.

Apple reportedly agreed with Amazon to discount its products if Amazon reduced the number of third-party Apple sellers on the platform. According to Apple the company has limited the number of resellers to reduce counterfeit products on the platform. The tech company also states that it is an ‘everyday agreement’.

U.S. federal judge, John Coughenour, rejected earlier this week however, the tech companies’ attempt to drop the charges. That means the lawsuit will continue to collect evidence against Apple and Amazon, among other things. According to plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman, the judge’s ruling to prosecute the case is “a major win for consumers of Apple phones and iPads.”

In October of last year, an Italian court canceled a fine of more than 173 million euros imposed by market authority AGCM. In this case, the tech giants were also sued for restricting sales of Apple and Beats products through Amazon.