Many of Apple’s manufacturers may be based in Taiwan, but that hasn’t stopped a Taiwanese court from finding the company guilty of engaging in anti-competitive practices.
Apple’s crime? Making its telecom partners in Taiwan run their pricing plans past Apple prior to making then available to the public.
“Apple limited telecoms from setting contract price for its 4, 4s, 5 and 5s models, which is against the law,” says a spokesperson for Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission.
The iPhone was Taiwan’s most popular smartphone as of Q4 last year, with a market share of 32 percent.
iPhones usually come with a contract from one of the country’s three major telecom companies, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, and Far EasTone Telecommunications.
As per Taiwanese law, once a phone is transferred to a third-party telecom, the vendor (in this case Apple) loses the right to set prices — something that Apple was apparently still insisting on doing.
Apple was fined T$20 million ($647,124), and has the right to appeal the court’s decision if it wants.
Source: Reuters
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
One response to “Apple fined for illegally dictating iPhone contract prices”
I don’t know if this is the same thing, but in Canada there are companies that still offer unlimited data and MUCH better prices than the 3 major players (Rogers, Bell, and Telus) but you can only get them on Android because Apple won’t let those providers sell iPhones without the Apple Tax on the contract. (from what I’ve heard)