According to recent reports, the US Department of Justice is in the early stages of preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
According to Politico, the US Department of Justice is in the early stages of preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. The report suggests a potential lawsuit could be filed by the end of the year, but highlights that a final decision on whether to sue the company has yet to be made.
Apple’s Tim Cook (Noah Berger/AFP)
(Drew Rage/Getty)
TechCrunch says a deal was struck between US regulators in 2019 that allowed the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into Apple and Google, and the Federal Trade Commission is focusing on investigations into other tech giants, including Amazon and Facebook.
The Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether Apple abused its bargaining power to dominate small tech companies, including hardware and software manufacturers. Apple’s control of the app store has long bothered developers who want to sell their apps directly to consumers without Apple taking a 30 percent share of all transactions. This issue has been the subject of a currently pending lawsuit against Apple by Fortnite developer Epic Games.
The Justice Department began contacting developers as early as 2020 to review Apple’s business practices. Early discussions involved creators of parental control apps that were removed from the App Store because they didn’t comply with Apple’s policies. One developer said that his app was removed from the store for six months, causing him to lose half of his business.
Bluetooth tracker maker Tile also accused Apple of unfair competition with the introduction of AirTag. The Apple Tracking Device was launched with direct access to the iPhone’s ultra-wideband technology for accurate tracking and integration with Apple’s Find My app. Tile argued that Apple doesn’t need to sacrifice its direct relationship with its customers through its own app to become another Find Me partner to compete with its hardware. Thile also stated that Apple’s decision to enter the market will allow it to dominate easily due to the first-party advantage and the strength of the ecosystem.
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Source: Breitbart
