US Department of Justice sues Apple for monopoly over its iPhone practices
He US Department of Justice sues Apple for iPhone monopoly as reported CNBC. Furthermore, they also claim that Apple’s anti-competitive practices extend beyond the iPhone, Apple Watch, advertising, browser, FaceTime and other Apple services are also considered to do part of the trial.
The demand could force Apple to make changes to some of its most valuable businesses: the iPhone. The lawsuit could force the company to change its very particular way of operating and the relationship between its devices and technologies.
What is Apple accused of?
There is a lot of examples that the Justice Department has deemed anticompetitive, many of which relate to the iPhone and how it connects to other Apple products or services and limits its compatibility with other alternatives. That’s all the Justice Department studied and that’s why it accused Apple of monopoly:
- iPhone integration with Apple Watch and how it is better than other smartwatches.
- How Apple blocks iMessage competitors.
- How Apple is preventing other companies from offering payment services similar to Apple Pay.
- How Apple restricts iPhone location services to devices competing with AirTags.
- How app tracking transparency has affected advertising data collection.
- The commission on in-app purchases charged by Apple.
Apple accused of monopoly on the iPhone in its own country
In Europe also investigated Apple for almost all of these reasons and the company was forced to make changes such as alternative application stores or the opening of NFC to competing payment applications. And it seems that in the United States they will follow a similar path.
Apple responds that the lawsuit “threats who we are”
Of course, Apple didn’t like this lawsuit at all and now issued a statement which is reminiscent of those we saw when the company was accused of the same thing in Europe. “They want to turn us into Android,” they said at the time.
At Apple, we innovate every day to make people love technology: by designing products that work together seamlessly, protecting people’s privacy and security, and creating a magical experience for our users. This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that distinguish Apple products in fiercely competitive markets.
If successful, it would hamper our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple, where hardware, software and services intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, allowing the government to take a heavy hand in the design of popular technology. We believe this lawsuit is factually and legally flawed, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against it.
It starts now a process that can last a long time and could completely change Apple. In Europe we have already seen how this has been forced. Apple made decisions it didn’t want to make and it’s likely that in the US it will have to take similar steps.
