Attorney General Eric Holder accused Apple of “conspiring to increase the prices” of e-books today during a press conference on an antitrust lawsuit brought against Apple.
“[The Department of Justice] will continue to litigate against Apple, and two additional leading prices,” Holder said, “for conspiring to increase the prices that consumers pay for e-books.”
Holder alleged that executives at Apple and five publishing companies, “concerned that e-book sellers had reduced prices – worked together to eliminate competition among stores selling e-books, ultimately increasing prices for consumers.”
The attorney general said that e-book price cuts at Amazon especially bothered Apple and the others, leading the companies “to seize pricing authority from bookstores . . . [and agree that] that no other e-book retailer would set a lower price.”
