Business · Companies · 10 hrs ago
Spain opens new case against Apple and Amazon over competition order
Spain’s competition regulator has opened a new case against Apple and Amazon over their handling of an earlier order.
In 2023, the regulator fined the companies €194 million for contract terms it said restricted competition on Amazon’s Spanish website.
The terms limited the number of Apple resellers, restricted advertising for rival products and prevented some marketing to Apple customers.
The companies removed the terms in May 2025, after the regulator had ordered them to stop the conduct.
The regulator said in October 2025 that the companies had failed to comply with its 2023 decision, and the courts rejected their requests to pause the order.
The new case will examine whether they should face further sanctions, but its opening does not decide the outcome.
The regulator has up to three months to investigate and issue a decision, while appeals against the earlier decisions remain pending.
Spain’s competition regulator has opened a new sanctioning case against Apple and Amazon over alleged failure to comply with a 2023 order.
The CNMC said the companies did not stop the conduct it had sanctioned until May 2025.
The regulator said the clauses restricted Apple-product resellers and advertising for Apple competitors on Amazon’s Spanish website.
The case follows a 2025 finding that the companies had breached the 2023 order, which both companies challenged in court.
Apple and Amazon reject the CNMC’s position, and the regulator said the new case does not determine the final outcome.
- Who
- Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) has opened the case against Apple and Amazon.
- What
- The regulator is investigating whether the companies failed to comply with its 2023 order to stop anti-competitive conduct.
- When
- The case was reported on November 3, 2026. The CNMC said the companies removed some clauses in May 2025.
- Where
- The conduct concerned Amazon’s website in Spain.
- Why
- The CNMC says the companies did not end the sanctioned conduct until May 2025.
CNMC
Apple and Amazon
Compliance with the 2023 order
CNMC
The CNMC says the companies did not cease the sanctioned conduct until May 2025.
Apple and Amazon
Apple says it always complied with the order; Amazon says it disagrees with the CNMC’s assessment and has appealed the October 2025 decision.
Effects of the clauses
CNMC
The CNMC says the clauses restricted Apple-product resellers, advertising for Apple competitors and marketing to Apple-product customers.
Apple and Amazon
Amazon says its business depends on sellers’ success and that its agreement with Apple expanded its Spanish catalogue and offered customers good deals and fast delivery.
The CNMC fined Apple and Amazon 194 million euros over anti-competitive clauses in their distribution agreement.
Apple and Amazon removed clauses restricting Apple-product resellers and advertising space for Apple competitors on Amazon’s website.
The CNMC council found that the companies had breached the 2023 order and asked its Competition Directorate to open a sanctioning case.
The CNMC opened the new sanctioning case after courts denied the companies’ requests for a temporary suspension.
- Regulator
- Spain’s CNMC
- 2023 fine
- 194 million euros
- Clauses removed
- May 2025
- CNMC breach finding
- October 1, 2025
- Investigation period
- A maximum of three months
What people are saying
However, it was not until May 2025 that they removed the clauses restricting the number of resellers of Apple products on Amazon and limiting Amazon’s advertising space for Apple’s competitors
We respectfully disagree with the decision adopted today and consider that we have always complied with the authority’s order. We will continue to cooperate constructively with the CNMC to make our position clear
We do not share the CNMC’s assessment that Amazon benefits from excluding sellers from our store.