France Slashes Apple's Antitrust Penalty By 66%: Report

A French court on Thursday slashed a penalty against iPhone maker Apple Inc AAPL for alleged anti-competitive behavior to €372 million (~$366 million) from €1.1 billion.
France's antitrust watchdog slapped a record fine in 2020 for Apple's anti-competitive behavior toward its distribution and retail network, Reuters reports.
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Apple allegedly imposed prices on retail premium resellers to align them with those the California firm charges in its shops or on the Internet.
The Paris appeals court cut the fine because it decided to drop one of the three main charges related to price-fixing allegations.
The court also decided to significantly lower the rate applied to calculate the fine.
The report noted that the French antitrust authority used a high rate in 2020, given Apple's size and financial firepower.
Apple had appealed against the original fine.
Apple held $48.2 billion in cash and equivalents as of June 25.
The Big Tech companies have been courting regulatory attention over their antitrust practices, sometimes amounting to penalties.
Price Action: AAPL shares traded lower by 0.21% at $146.10 on the last check Thursday.