Russian antitrust screening market for Apple-like cases
MOSCOW, Nov 24 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service is checking the market for cases similar to the one opened against Apple, which is suspected of coordinating prices of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Director Igor Artemyev told reporters on Thursday.
“We’re screening the market…we have several cases: one on mobile phones, gadgets; there are other issues with Google; there is a case with Microsoft on an antivirus product,” Artemyev said.
The antimonopoly service paid attention to the IT market upon receipt of multiple complaints from customers, the official said.
“We’ve started checking the whole market to set things right. We’ve revealed some facts, now we’re working on more facts to know if it could be a serious case for court, or it’s still early to speak about it,” he said.
The antitrust service opened the case against Apple over signs of price coordination for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in August. The investigation proved that the bulk of local resellers had set the same prices for the devices from the start of sales and held them for some time.
The service also saw equal prices for other Apple smartphones, including new flagship iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
The watchdog’s Deputy Director Andrei Tsarikovsky said earlier in November that the service may make a decision by March on the case against Apple.
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