Two-year probe of Apple's alleged anti-competitive behavior shut down by Canadian governme...

Posted:
in iPhone
Canada's Competition Bureau on Friday said it had not found sufficient evidence that Apple had engaged in anti-competitive conduct, in promoting the iPhone with Canadian wireless carriers.




A simple statement announced the end of the two-year probe, saying that there were no terms in deals with wireless carriers that resulted in a "significant effect" to competition.

Apple was accused of using its market force to demand carriers sell rival devices at inflated prices. Other concerns centered around limitations Apple placed on marketing and sales of the iPhone by the carriers.

The Canadian query surrounding the iPhone marketing and sales restrictions on carriers was very similar to investigations in France, South Korea, alleging the same things.

Apple's Canadian operations were under investigation from the country's Competition Bureau, which was looking into claims of anti-competitive deals struck in the Country. The investigation was announced by the bureau in December 2014, with no presumed guilt.

At the time of the investigation, the iPhone was available on main carriers Rogers, Bell, and TELUS, and on smaller providers Virgin Mobile, Fido, and Koodo.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    am8449am8449 Posts: 392member
    Good to hear. In my mind, Apple deserves more benefit of the doubt than most companies when it comes to doing business ethically. Hoping for similar results on the EU tax issue.
    verthibwatto_cobralostkiwi
  • Reply 2 of 30
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,125member
    Yeah, this seems fair.

    What they really need to look at is why Apple (stores) will have stock of items for months and long-serving independent resellers can't get stock at all!
    SpamSandwichicoco3
  • Reply 3 of 30
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Vindicated. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 30
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Politicians... what are they good for?
  • Reply 5 of 30
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Hard to understand what government considers fair competition. And even when a company follows the rules yet still trounces the competition the government then starts throwing the “monopoly” charge around.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    A rare case of where the fishing was not better in Canada.
    SpamSandwichcoolfactorration alwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 30
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    frac
  • Reply 8 of 30
    2 years!?!  I want my tax back. Isn't all big phone makers do the same thing? Most policy from previous government is just stupid. 
  • Reply 9 of 30
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    Except that's not remotely the case. Apple pays wages ABOVE the typical local wages, plus there's no "slave labor" involved. Chinese workers have wide latitude in deciding for whom they will work and wages there have risen to the point where it's now more economically responsible to replace them with automation and robots.
    Dan Andersenmwhiteicoco3ration al
  • Reply 10 of 30
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    You obviously no nothing about what you're talking about. Western companies like Nike and Apple have done more for those countries than anyone in terms of producing jobs. Do some research and not believe everything at face value that some hippy told you at some point. 
    Dan Andersenmwhiteicoco3SpamSandwichration alwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 30
    65c81665c816 Posts: 136member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    As SpamSandwich noted, this is not even close to the case.  The average pay in China is far below what it is in Canada or US, and to expect the same wages is just plain idiotic.  As of right now, factory workers at an iPhone line, if they are hardworking, after 3-5 years, can return to their hometown and have saved enough to start their own business (and this is savings after sending money home each month to support their family!).  Can you do that with *ANY* factory work here in US or Canada?  At one point, a factory worker working on iPhones is making about 20% or more, hourly, above workers on other phones - and making as much money as an engineer or a pilot.

    So what the hell are you bitching about?  If you think they pay too little for iPhone workers, then you should not be using *ANY* phones at all.
    Dan Andersenstompyai46mwhiteicoco3SpamSandwichration al
  • Reply 12 of 30
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,293member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    oh please Janet Hudgins.  Like at everything in your life--the plastic utensils in your kitchen, your shoes, your clothes, your furniture, the toys you buy for your grandchildren.  All of these items are made in conditions far worse than iPhone manufacutring lines.  If you talk to the Chinese themselves they will tell you these are competitive jobs that allow employees to move up the socioeconomic ladder in their country.  These are not the jobs that expose a worker in Bangladesh to a factory fire.  Stop being a hypocrite.
    icoco3SpamSandwichration al
  • Reply 13 of 30
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    Janet, assembly workers in Asia don't live in Canada or the U.S. and commute to work. Sheesh…

    ( Assembly workers employed to make Apple products are earning far more than "subsistence" wages, given the much lower cost of living in their regions. Inform yourself: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Zhengzhou-China?displayCurrency=USD )
    icoco3ration al
  • Reply 14 of 30
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    So every single thing you own in your house, car, etc is absolutely 100% made in the USA or Canada where "fair wages" are set? I 100% doubt it and unless you live in a hole you know that wages in the US are not always "fair wages". Just because someone here in the US makes $10/hr doesn't mean its a fair wage vs someone in China making .75¢/hr which may be a much higher than average wage there. For their $10/hr here they might be doing the work of someone who should be making $20/hr and they might not get any benefits either from their employer. The world isn't all roses in the US, or probably even Canada. 

    Foxconn has to turn workers away it has so many applicants. If conditions were that terrible, this wouldn't be the case. They're paid what is a more than a fair wage for where they live. They're also given a place to stay (I think for free), possibly food to eat, etc, etc. The world over there is entirely different from the world here. Apple isn't going to change the way the Chinese live their lives and they shouldn't be going down that road IMO. 

    BTW...the device you typed this post on was most likely made in China by those very same type of workers. 
    edited January 2017 mwhiteicoco3Dan Andersenration al
  • Reply 15 of 30
    misamisa Posts: 827member
    Meh, people are kinda looking at the wrong horse here.

    Basically the investigation was "Apple's products are stupidly expensive, and LG, Samsung, et al are making cheaper products, but the RoBellUs (Rogers-Bell-Telus) Cartel is marking them up to the same prices as the Apple products because (supposedly) Apple is telling them to." Rather just cross out the "Apple is telling them to" and replace it with "because the Canadian Wireless Cartel decided by themselves to do so." That is what they do with services, and even their wireline solutions. Amazing how everyone decides to raise their prices at exactly the same time.

    ration aljony0
  • Reply 16 of 30
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    Janet, have a look on the tag of the shirt you are wearing. Hypocrite!
  • Reply 17 of 30
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    What we should all look for is businesses and governments ensuring workers everywhere - Canada, the US, and China and the rest of the world, be given a living wage for the work they perform. In the end a well paid population will have more money to spend on goods and services which is always good for the economy. I agree that we are all complicit in an unjust world where people spend their lives in poverty due to the greed of wealthy nations, companies and individuals, but on balance Apple is probably one of the better companies out there. If you cannot buy Apple's products, who's products can you buy?
  • Reply 18 of 30
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Just as an observation it has always struck me how whenever the carriers in Canada market their services there is rarely if ever an Apple product in sight unless they are specifically advertising the iPhone. From my observation it is almost always Samsung.
    jony0
  • Reply 19 of 30
    So the CRTC is jumping on the consumer side of the bandwagon and the Competition Bureau made sure Apple wasn't screwing anyone, and yet there is still no rule that prevents carriers from taking control of our equipment. Stuff we own, that we paid for, can be locked by the carrier and we have to pay a fee to get it unlocked. Can anyone describe a scenario in which that makes any sense whatsoever?

    How is a service provider allowed to hold our equipment hostage? If the cable company tried to lock our TVs to their service, and charge a fee to unlock if we wanted to change providers, everyone would scream bloody hell! Why do we allow cellular service providers to get away with this?

    (End of off-topic tangent.)
  • Reply 20 of 30
    fracfrac Posts: 480member
    What I would like to see from all governments is the courage to call Cook and Apple on farming out production to the East and paying them a subsistence income, if that, in slave labour working conditions. Unless that is changed I can't buy Apple products as I refuse to be complicit. Have a look at this documentary: www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/m/episodes/apples-broken-promises . 
    I tagged your post 'Informative'...if only because I feel rather too informed about what it infers about your critics thinking. As others have pointed out. 
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