France tries to take EUR 50m bite out of Apple: report
Apple - Image John Bragg
(PARIS) - French authorities are seeking nearly 50 million euros from Apple for unfair trade practices against mobile operators, BFMTV reported on Tuesday.
The news channel said that the French competition and consumer protection body DGCCRF had filed a lawsuit seeking 48.5 million euros ($55.2 million) for illegal contract clauses such as requiring operators to buy specific quantities of new phone models and contribute to advertising campaigns.
French authorities, mobile operators and Apple declined to comment.
A source close to the case confirmed the existence of the lawsuit.
"The case by the DGCCRF is relatively old, it dates from more than a year ago, and all the mobile operators are quite happy about it," the source told AFP.
Sources said already in 2013 that French authorities were pursuing Apple for unfair trade practices. The competition authorities raided Apple stores that year after a complaint from an Apple reseller that the company favoured its own stores.