According to Business Insider , the investigation results show that Amazon will block a large number of advertisers from Apple's product page. That is against the competition principle that the US Federal Trade Commission can pursue this case, becoming bad news for the iPhone manufacturer.
The investigation may focus on an agreement between the two companies to provide certain incentives to Apple, allowing it to see fewer ads when its products are on display, limiting the ability of other brands to compete.
The difference between searching for iPhone and Xiaomi 13 on Amazon's product page
For example, if a user searches for “iPhone” on Amazon, they’ll see a clean product page where everything that appears is Apple’s own. However, when searching for a flagship device like the Xiaomi 13, the first thing that pops up is an ad for the Google Pixel 8 — a direct competitor.
Apple argues that this is a way to combat counterfeit sales, although that’s not enough to convince antitrust regulators. There are a number of antitrust lawsuits currently underway, including against Apple, Google, and Bing, so the newly disclosed deal could add fuel to the fire.
At present, the investigation is still ongoing to assess whether this activity of the two companies caused any serious consequences, or whether it was simply a legitimate commercial agreement.
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