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Apple was forced to change its iPhone sales contract in one of its most lucrative Asian markets after Japanese regulators said the US technology group could violate the antitrust rules.
(FTC) Wednesday accused Apple of forcing the three largest Japanese mobile service providers to offer subsidies to sell iPhone handsets at a reduced price.
These subsidies effectively restrict competition by preventing carriers from offering lower monthly plans to consumers. The FTC began investigating Apple's practices in Japan in October 2016. It said it had completed its investigation without punishing the US company after Apple agreed to revise its contracts to allow carriers to sell iPhones without offering the grants.
"We strive to ensure that our customers have very good choices when choosing their iPhone and the plans offered with them.In Japan, we are happy to work with the carriers and the JFTC to help to provide customers with the best options to meet all their needs, "said Apple in a statement.
SoftBank signed an exclusive deal in 2008 to sell iPhones in Japan, and the US product now accounts for half of all smartphones sold in the country, according to government figures. Japan is the second largest Asian market of Apple after China and accounted for 8% of its total annual sales in 2017.
Subsidies have played a role in the growth of iPhone sales in allowing Japanese consumers to buy
The FTC crackdown comes as the antimonopoly guard dog intensifies its scrutiny of the global giants of technology.
In March, the FTC attacked for the second time the Amazon headquarters in Tokyo. two years to determine whether the US e-commerce group had used its growing market influence to force suppliers to bear the costs when offering discounts to customers.
Amazon stated that he "cooperated fully with the authorities".
A large number of polls have not resulted in fines or other penalties, since the FTC and the companies being investigated often arrive a private agreement to revise their practices.
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