The Justice Department To Investigate Ebook Pricing
0
The European Commission is not the only entity interested in investigating e-book pricing. The U.S. Justice Department has that on its agenda as well. The European Commission has already opened a formal inquiry into whether publishers have colluded to raise ebook prices with the help of a company such as Apple. Many e-book lovers have been complaining about some e-book prices being too high. The U.S. agency will look into whether Apple and other publishers are manipulating the e-book industry to their advantage.
We are also investigating the electronic book industry, along with the European Commission and states attorneys general
said the Justice Department’s acting antitrust chief Sharis Prozen. The agency has been keeping an eye on the rise of the agency model in this industry. The agency model has been quite controversial. While it does give publishers more control over their revenue, it makes it harder for e-book retailers to gain a competitive edge by optimizing their pricing schemes.
The investigation is in its early stages at this point. It will take a while before we find out what the next steps are.
