Antitrust regulators at the European Union (EU) have slapped a €997M (about $1.2 billion) fine on Qualcomm for paying Apple “billions of U.S. dollars” to shun rival chips in its iPhones.
“This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market,” says EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
As noted by Seeking Alpha, the fine is massive, thought it’s well below the more than $2 billion the commission could have sought under Europe’s antitrust laws. In January, Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, alleging the chip supplier demanded unfair terms for its technology. However, Qualcomm denies the allegations and says Apple wouldn’t have an iPhone business if it weren’t for fair licensing of the company’s essential tech.
