UK Tribunal Allows Revived Lawsuit Against Apple and Amazon to Proceed

Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal has permitted a revived collective consumer lawsuit against Apple and Amazon to proceed. The action alleges a 2018 agreement restricted independent merchants from selling Apple and Beats-branded products on Amazon's UK marketplace, artificially inflating consumer prices. The tribunal allowed claims concerning products purchased directly on Amazon's platform, which claimants estimate are worth between £289 million ($383 million) and £306 million including interest. However, the court dismissed broader claims regarding purchases made through Apple's retail channels and other third-party outlets as speculative and lacking sufficient evidence.