CNMC Opens New Proceedings Against Apple and Amazon Over Possible Breach of Competition Order
Key Facts
Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) opened two disciplinary proceedings against Apple and Amazon on 19 October 2026 over their failure to comply with an earlier decision ordering them to end practices the authority described as anti-competitive. Both cases remain under review, and the authority classifies them as breaches of a decision under Article 62.4.c of Spain’s Competition Act. The Apple case, registered as SNC/DC/095/26, concerns Apple Distribution International Ltd. and Apple Inc. Opening the proceedings is not a final ruling or an announcement of a new fine: CNMC said the referrals are based on indications of an infringement and do not determine the outcome of either case. The outcome of the breach proceedings could lead to a new fine, according to Reuters, which did not report a potential amount.
The case dates back to a CNMC decision in July 2023, when it imposed a total fine of 194.150.000 euros on subsidiaries of the Apple and Amazon groups and ordered them to end the conduct under investigation. Apple group companies accounted for 143.640.000 euros of the fine, compared with 50.510.000 euros for Amazon group companies. The authority said the restrictions reduced the number of Apple product sellers on Amazon.es and limited advertising space for competing products. It also said they curtailed Amazon marketing campaigns targeting Apple customers. In its original decision, CNMC said more than 90% of sellers offering Apple products on the platform were excluded under “brand restriction” clauses.
CNMC said the clauses at issue were adopted in October 2018 and constituted a single, continuing infringement of Spain’s Competition Act and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. On 1 October 2025, the authority’s council found that Apple and Amazon had failed to comply with the July 2023 order to end the practices because they did not stop the conduct until May 2025. The clauses restricting the number of sellers and advertising space were removed in May 2025, after the companies received the competition directorate’s proposed infringement finding. The authority considers the period during which the clauses remained in place after the order to end them to be the basis for the current proceedings. The opening of the two cases therefore follows up on implementation of the earlier decision; it is not an announcement of a new final penalty.
Apple and Amazon appealed CNMC’s 2023 decision to Spain’s National Court, and the original fine was suspended pending a ruling on the appeal, according to Reuters. The fine imposed in the earlier decision therefore remains unenforceable pending the court’s decision, while separate proceedings over compliance with the order to end the conduct continue. The authority has not announced an outcome of the appeal or a date for a ruling in the information available. Reuters also did not specify the value of any potential new fine. The next announced step is for CNMC to continue handling the two cases, with their outcomes yet to be determined.