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Apple’s stock price is falling as regulators in the United States and Europe crack down on the tech giant.
The dual investigations on both sides of the Atlantic worry investors, who fear fines and forced changes to how they operate.
The company’s shares fell 4.1% on Thursday – their worst day since August 2023 – reducing its market value by $113 billion in market value.
This year, losses have increased to 11 percent – at a time when the rest of the market is hitting record highs.
Today, shares opened at about the same price they closed on Thursday — $172 — but then started falling again.
The U.S. Justice Department and 15 states say they used high demand for its iPhone and other products to drive up prices and hurt smaller competitors in the first major antitrust move against Apple.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (left), announces an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, March 21.
For example, it is alleged that Apple is making it harder for competing payment apps and smartwatches to work with iPhones.
Instead, it prioritizes its Apple Pay and Watch – rather than, say, PayPal or Garmin. Shares of both companies rose today after the lawsuit was announced.
Another major complaint concerns messaging. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said users who try to send messages to owners of other brands of smartphones end up encountering problems, such as videos not being sent.
Apple joins a list of big tech companies pursued by U.S. regulators, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com in the administrations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
In the lawsuit, Apple is accused of five main areas in which it prevented rival companies from fully accessing its technology – with the aim of suppressing competition.
Besides messaging apps, smartwatches and digital wallets, Apple is accused of blocking competition with so-called “super apps” and cloud streaming game apps.
It’s claimed that Apple is making it harder for competing messaging apps and smartwatches to work with iPhones.
Officials also say it has blocked access to its contactless technology that enables mobile payments, meaning iPhone owners can only use its Apple Pay service.
Meanwhile, App Store rules regarding streaming services for games have hurt competition.
Super apps are those that combine multiple features, such as calling, messaging and payments in one place, and make it easy to move between smartphone platforms. They are common in China and include WeChat.