German federal judges on Tuesday seemed that they might support the country’s antitrust regulator in its legal dispute with Apple. This came after more than three hours of discussions on whether the U.S. tech giant should face additional regulations.
Reuters:
The German cartel office said in April 2023 it considered Apple a “company of paramount cross-market significance for competition”, opening the door to possible measures curbing its dominance.
Wolfgang Kirchhoff, presiding judge on the panel assessing Apple’s appeal against the designation, said an overall assessment had shown it could be true that Apple has such significance across markets.
However, the Federal Court of Justice held off on handing down a ruling on Tuesday, calling for more time to deliberate.
The legal team representing Apple urgently called on the court to consult with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg before taking a decision, arguing that German law may not be in line with EU law on the issue.
MacDailyNews Note: If the ruling is confirmed, Apple would join Alphabet subsidiary Google and Meta Platforms as companies subject to extra controls in Germany over their “paramount cross-market significance.”
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