UK Tribunal Halts Lawsuit Accusing Apple and Amazon of Reducing Competition

The U.K.’s Competition Appeal Tribunal reportedly ruled that a lawsuit accusing Apple and Amazon of collusion cannot proceed.

The tribunal ruled that the plaintiff, consumer law academic Christine Riefa, had not demonstrated “sufficient independence or robustness” to represent the claimant class, referring to third-party funding for the litigation, Reuters reported Tuesday (Jan. 14).

Riefa’s lawyers had argued that Apple and Amazon reduced competition for Apple and Beats-branded products by barring most resellers of these products from Amazon’s marketplace in the U.K., according to the report.

Apple and Amazon asked the Competition Appeal Tribunal to stop the case from continuing, saying it was without merit, the report said.

In an earlier, separate case, in October 2022, an Italian court overruled a $169 million fine that the country’s antitrust authority levied against Apple and Amazon in a case that alleged anti-competitive cooperation related to the sales of Apple and Beats products.

The Italian Competition Authority alleged that a deal struck between the two companies in 2018 meant that Apple and Amazon limited which sellers could resell those products on Amazon’s Italian website. The authority also argued the deal was in violation of European Union rules and affected competition.

Both Apple and Amazon denied the allegations.

After the Italian court’s decision, an Amazon spokesperson told PYMNTS: “We welcome the Court’s decision. Our business model across Europe relies on the success of small and medium-sized businesses, and we will continue to work hard to provide a great selection from Apple, and the value and convenience that our customers love.”

In November 2022, it was reported that Amazon inked a deal with Apple in which the eCommerce retailer can sell Apple and Beats products around the world.

Previously, certain Apple products were either not available on Amazon’s site or were available only through certain third-party sellers. However, products like Beats headphones and MacBooks were available directly from Amazon.

Amazon told CNET at the time: “Amazon is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing selection of the products we know customers want. We look forward to expanding our assortment of Apple and Beats products globally.”