Apple Inc deserves a five-year ban
from entering anti-competitive ebook
distribution contracts and should end
its business arrangements with five
major publishers with which it conspired
to raise ebook prices, federal and
state regulators said on Friday.
The U.S. Department of Justice and 33
U.S. states and territories proposed
those changes after U.S. District
Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan last
month found in a civil antitrust case
that Apple played a "central role" in a
conspiracy with the publishers to raise
ebook prices.
Regulators also want Apple for two
years to let retailers such as
Amazon.com Inc and Barnes & Noble
Inc provide links to make it easier for
consumers to compare prices.
They also want Apple to use an outside
monitor to ensure that its internal
antitrust compliance policies are strong
enough to catch illegal conduct before
consumers are harmed. The proposed
changes require Cote's approval.
"Under the department's proposed
order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease,
and Apple and its senior executives will
be prevented from conspiring to thwart
competition," said Bill Baer, head of
the Justice Department's antitrust
division.
Apple did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. It has said it
did not conspire to fix ebook prices and
that it planned to appeal Cote's
decision.
Regulators accused Apple of conspiring
to undercut Amazon.com's ebook
dominance, causing some prices to rise
to $12.99 or $14.
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