French competition authority to charge Apple with a penalty for anti-competitive behavior on Monday

Apple
Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is likely to face another fine next Monday as sources
informed on Thursday that the French competition watchdog accused the iPhone
maker of anti-competitive behavior in terms of its sales and distribution
network.

The
sources, however, didn’t reveal further information regarding the size of the
penalty. The French competition watchdog refused to comment on the recent news
at this stage.

Isabelle
de Silva Recently Charged Google With A £133 Million Fine

Taking
over the role of the head of the French competition authority, Isabelle de
Silva, has been actively in pursuit of imposing heavy charges on U.S tech
giants to force them into submitting to fair competition laws. Only recently,
she had charged Google with a £133 million penalty for not being transparent in
terms of advertising rules.

Apple
acknowledged the allegation on its sales and distribution practices in its
recent annual report but denied all such claims by the French competition
authority. France’s watchdog (DGCCRF) had announced earlier that the leading
U.S smartphone manufacturer has agreed on £22 million in penalty for not
informing its iPhone users that the recent operating system update is likely to
cause a lagging issue in their devices.

In
separate news, Apple said on Thursday that in its recent attempt to pose a
serious challenge to Spotify and other relevant music platforms, the company
has finalized a deal that spans over several years with prominent names like Warner
Music, Sony Music, and Universal Music.

While
Apple didn’t comment on the news, sources informed that Apple Music is still
not going to be bundled with its Television series following the new deal.

Coronavirus
Driven Sell-Off Threatening Apple’s Trillion-Dollar Value

Amidst
the Coronavirus emergency that is disrupting global business operations
including that of Apple Inc. as it relies on its suppliers that have production
houses in mainland China, the U.S tech giant had warned last month of a significant
hit to its quarterly financial performance.

After
keeping its stores shut to contain the spread of the virus and protect its
employees for an extended period, Apple announced the reopening of all 42 of
its outlets in China on Thursday. The Coronavirus driven downward rally,
however, wiped a significant chunk off the company’s market value in 2020.

At
the time of writing, Apple is exchanging hands at $236.65 per share in the
stock market that translates to around 20% decline in 2020 so far. The sell-off
caps Apple’s market capitalization at under $1.1 trillion currently and
threatens its place in the trillion-dollar club.