The investigation seeks to determine whether Apple and ebook publishers are involved in price-fixing tactics. Apple is accused of using nonstandard pricing tactics in order to challenge competitors like Amazon.
Some suggest that Apple advocating an “agency model,” in which they take a 30% cut of sales and allow publishers to set prices, is an anticompetitive and illegal tactic, as opposed to fixed-price sales of ebooks to sellers, who would then determine pricing on their own.
It’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out – it certainly does seem as if ebook prices have increased recently, and Amazon, Apple, and other retailers adopting the agency model just might be at the core of the problem.