Japan watchdog: Apple may have breached antitrust rules with iPhone

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese regulators on Wednesday said Apple Inc (AAPL.O) may have breached antitrust rules by forcing mobile service providers to sell its iPhones cheaply and charge higher monthly fees, denying consumers a fair choice.

FILE PHOTO: A member of Apple staff takes pictures as new iPhone X begins to sell at an Apple Store in Beijing, China November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said that Apple had forced NTT Docomo Inc (9437.T) , KDDI Corp (9433.T) and SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) to offer subsidies and sell iPhones at a discount.

The FTC, which began looking into Apple’s sales practices in 2016, did not punish Apple as the U.S. company had agreed to revise its contracts with the carriers, it said.

Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Yoshiyasu Shida; Editing by Ritsuko Ando

(Original source)