- EU antitrust launches investigation into voice assistants
- Antitrust: initiates proceedings against Alitalia and Volotea
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July 22, 2020 The Antitrust Authority announces that it has opened an investigation into Apple and Amazon "for the ban on the sale of Apple and Beats branded products to resellers who do not join the official program".The authority has initiated the investigation "aimed at ascertaining whether Apple and Amazon have put in place an agreement restricting competition to prohibit the sale of Apple and Beats branded products by electronics retailers not participating in the official Apple program, the latter, however, who legitimately purchase the products from wholesalers and then resell them to retail ".
For the Authority. "the agreement to exclude some subjects from the marketplace appears potentially suitable to reduce competition due to the raising of barriers to the outlet of online sales markets to the detriment of unofficial retailers, usually consisting of small and medium-sized enterprises that make sales on the web using marketplace services. "
The agreement also, "with the decrease in retailers active in the online channel, could lower the incentives to compete effectively on the prices of Apple and Beats products, with evident negative effects for consumers and businesses". Antitrust officials "carried out inspections at the offices of Amazon Italia Services and Apple Italia".