Spain fines Apple and Amazon $218 million for elbowing out small retailers

MADRID (AP) — Amazon and Apple have been fined a total of $218 million after Spanish regulators say they colluded to box out competitors by favoring sales of Apple products directly from the online retail giant. Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission said Tuesday that Amazon and Apple reached agreements in 2018 that limited the free competition of third-party sellers who hawk Apple goods via Amazon’s platform for smaller retailers. Regulators say the tech giants also limited the capacity for third parties to advertise Apple products on Amazon.