Canada court to order Apple to turn over records in iPhone probe

The Federal Court of Canada agreed on Wednesday to order Apple Inc’s Canadian subsidiary to turn over documents to the Competition Bureau to help investigate whether Apple unfairly used its market power to promote the sale of iPhones.

In seeking the order, the Competition Bureau said agreements Apple negotiated with wireless carriers may have cut into competition by encouraging the companies to maintain or boost the price of rival phones.

It’d be very welcome if the relationships between major OEMs and carriers, as well as between the individual carriers, came under very close scrutiny. In most countries, the wireless market is dominated by only a few major carriers and OEMs, creating a lot of opportunity for anti-competitive – and thus, anti-consumer – practices. Good on Canada for taking these steps, but other countries need to follow.

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