The US Department of Justice could reportedly join Epic Games and Tile in alleging that Apple has used the popularity of its products—especially the iPhone—to stifle competition.
After taking on Meta (Facebook) and Google with antitrust lawsuits, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly drafting an antitrust case against Apple, alleging that the company "abused its market power to stifle smaller tech companies, including app developers and competing hardware makers".
According to a report in the Politico citing sources, the
Justice Department is "in the early stages of drafting a potential
antitrust complaint against Apple".
"Various groups of prosecutors inside the DOJ are
assembling the pieces for a potential lawsuita and the department's antitrust
division hopes to file suit by the end of the year," the report said.
Both DOJ and Apple did not comment on the report.
However, the Justice Department is yet to make a firm
decision on "whether or when to sue Apple, the world's most valuable
public company".
It is still possible "no case will be filed".
If filed, it will be the first antitrust lawsuit by the DOJ
against Big Tech under the US President Joe Biden's administration.
European antitrust watchdogs have filed antitrust cases
against Apple over its App Store fees and the iPhone's treatment of tap-to-pay
technology.
The Justice Department has been investigating Apple since
2019 over allegations that it abused its market power to stifle smaller tech
companies.
In May, a US judge denied Apple's appeal to dismiss an
amended antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of Cydia, an app store for
jailbroken iPhones.
Cydia developer Jay Freeman first filed a lawsuit against
Apple in 2020, alleging that Apple "has wrongfully acquired and maintained
monopoly power" in iOS app distribution and payments.
Freeman shut down the Cydia store in 2018.
Meanwhile, Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite game,
challenged Apple for its stand that third-party app stores would compromise the
iPhone's security.
Last year, a US judge ruled in the Epic Games v. Apple
district court case that Apple did not have a monopoly in the relevant market.
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