The US Department Justice Department, along with more than a dozen attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against Apple that directly targets the iPhone and the company’s lucrative iOS ecosystem.
Claiming that Apple had established an ‘iPhone monopoly’ the suit states that the company’s alleged anti-competitive behavior extends far beyond the smartphones themselves. It names financial services, fitness, gaming, media and more as sectors affected by the “walled garden” approximation.
“This case is about freeing smartphone markets from Apple’s anti-competitive and exclusionary behavior and restoring competition to lower smartphone prices for consumers, lowering costs for developers, and preserving innovation for the future,” he said. the lawsuit.
Apple’s App Store has been a particular point of contention for years. The company has faced legal challenges, particularly from Fortnite developer Epic Games, due to both its restrictiveness and the fees it charges developers for in-app purchases. The App Store is the center of the lawsuit, a key part of the supposedly anti-competitive “moat” the company has built around its products.
The lawsuit directly seeks to prevent Apple from “using its control over app distribution to undermine cross-platform technologies such as super apps and cloud streaming apps, among others,” and to stop the company from “using private APIs to drive cross-platform technologies such as undermining messaging’. , smart watches and digital wallets” and end Apple’s alleged practice of “using the terms and conditions of its contracts with developers, accessory manufacturers, consumers and others to obtain, maintain, expand a monopoly or to anchor.”
“This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that differentiate Apple products in fiercely competitive markets,” Apple said in an emailed statement. “If this succeeds, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple – at the intersection of hardware, software and services. It would also set a dangerous precedent, giving the government the power to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. I believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against it.”
Antitrust enforcement is one main focus of the Biden administration. In 2021, the White House issued an executive order intended to encourage stronger enforcement of existing antitrust laws through the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, and established the White House Competition Council. “Polls show that the public is truly concerned that the federal government should do more to tackle the power of monopolies to make the economy more fair and competitive,” said Timothy Wu, former special assistant to the president for technology and competition. said in a speech in November 2021.
“Over the past two decades, Apple has become one of the most successful companies in the world,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference Thursday morning, noting that the company is larger than the individual GDP of more than 100 countries. Garland claims that in order to maintain its grip on the market, Apple “knowingly and intentionally lowers quality and security for its users” and stifles innovation.