Apple’s just gotten to the end of its long and convoluted eBooks antitrust case, and now Germany’s Federal Cartel Office is reportedly investigating the company’s agreement with Amazon for purchasing audiobooks.
Apple and Amazon are said to have a long-term agreement in place for purchasing audio books from Amazon’s Audible company to distribute via the iTunes store. The terms of the deal haven’t been made clear.
“The two companies have a strong position in the digital offering of audiobooks in Germany,” Federal Cartel Office chief Andreas Mundt said in a statement. “Therefore, we feel compelled to examine the agreement between these two competitors in the audiobooks in more detail.”
Neither Apple nor Amazon have yet made a public statement concerning the investigation.
This is just one of a number of investigations Apple has had leveled at it recently. There are the ongoing tax investigations in Europe, investigations concerning Apple Music, and now this.
Geez, anyone would think Apple’s the world’s most heavily scrutinized company or something…
Source: Reuters
