Most third-party resellers of Apple and Beats-branded merchandise allegedly were excluded from Amazon’s UK platform. Credit: viewimage/Shutterstock.

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has dismissed a legal claim against technology giant Apple and online retailer Amazon, which had alleged reseller collusion. 

The litigation was led by consumer law scholar Christine Riefa and sought redress for 36 million British consumers who had purchased Apple or Beats products.  

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The claim alleged that both companies engaged in anti-competitive practices by preventing independent vendors from selling Apple merchandise on Amazon’s UK platform.  

The case centred on accusations that Apple and Amazon reached an agreement in 2018 to exclude most third-party resellers of Apple and Beats-branded merchandise from Amazon’s marketplace. 

The lawsuit claimed that restricting resellers on Amazon’s platform negatively impacted consumers by limiting their options and driving up the prices of Apple products. 

The tech giants maintained that the lawsuit lacked substance.  

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On 14 January 2025, the tribunal determined that the lawsuit, which demanded close to £494m ($602m) in compensation, would not be permitted to proceed.  

The decision was based on concerns regarding the claimant’s capacity to properly act on behalf of consumers. 

The ruling stated: “Professor Riefa has not demonstrated sufficient independence or robustness so as to act fairly and adequately in the interests of the class […] As the proposed class representative has failed to satisfy the authorisation condition, the collective proceedings order will not be granted.” 

In 2023, Spain’s antitrust regulator CNMC fined Amazon and Apple a combined €194.1m for restricting competition on the Amazon website in Spain.