The US Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Silicon Valley giant of controlling the iPhone ecosystem.
bloomberg report The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has intensified its antitrust battle against major technology companies by filing a lawsuit against Apple, the world’s second-highest market capitalization technology company. The lawsuit, filed by the Justice Department and 16 attorneys general in federal court in the District of New Jersey, alleges that Apple is abusing its monopoly power, including preventing rival companies from accessing the iPhone’s hardware and software features. They claim that they violated the law.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies during a hearing of the House Committee on Judicial Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2023. (Mandel Gunn/AFP via Getty)
Apple CEO Tim Cook poses for goofy selfie (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
This latest lawsuit is the third time in the past 14 years that the Justice Department has accused Apple of antitrust violations, but it is the first time the iPhone maker has accused Apple of illegally maintaining a dominant market position. It’s my first time. The Biden administration has already filed antitrust lawsuits against other tech giants, including Google, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, and Amazon.
The move reportedly comes as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to address growing concerns about market domination by the nation’s largest technology companies.
News of the lawsuit has already had an impact on Apple stock, which fell more than 3% in early trading Thursday. The company’s stock had fallen 7.2% since the beginning of the year through Wednesday’s close.
Apple is also under intense scrutiny in Europe for alleged anti-competitive practices. The company was fined 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) by European regulators earlier this month for cutting out cheaper deals from music streaming rivals. Apple is appealing the fine, saying regulators failed to uncover “any credible evidence of consumer harm.”
The company could also face a full-scale investigation under the European Union’s new rules for Big Tech, known as the Digital Markets Act, which came into force earlier this month. Rivals have already complained about new App Store rules that took effect in Europe, arguing that the changes will likely result in higher prices for developers. Penalties for failing to comply with the EU’s new rules can be severe, up to 10% of a company’s annual global revenue, and up to 20% for repeated violations.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Apple began in 2019 during the administration of former President Donald Trump. However, the antitrust division chose to prioritize the case against Google, allowing Epic Games’ monopoly case against Apple to proceed in federal court. The Epic Games lawsuit, which focuses on Apple’s App Store policies, has garnered attention from the industry and has brought increased attention to antitrust issues in the technology sector.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
