The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, marking the first significant antitrust action taken against the iPhone manufacturer by the Biden administration. The lawsuit alleges that Apple has monopolized smartphone markets.
Apple is now among the major tech companies that have been sued by US regulators, including Google, Meta Platforms, and Amazon.com, during the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “Consumers should not be subjected to higher prices due to companies violating antitrust laws. If Apple’s actions go unchallenged, the company will only further solidify its smartphone monopoly.”
The Justice Department claims that Apple leverages its market dominance to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants.
The civil lawsuit accuses Apple of maintaining an illegal monopoly on smartphones by imposing contractual restrictions and withholding critical access from developers.
Apple has faced antitrust investigations and orders in Europe, Japan, and Korea, as well as legal battles with competitors like Epic Games.
Apple’s App Store, one of its most profitable ventures, has faced scrutiny for charging developers commissions of up to 30%. Despite a legal challenge from Epic under US law, a federal judge ruled that Apple did not violate antitrust laws but ordered the company to allow alternative payment methods for apps.
In Europe, Apple’s App Store business model has been disrupted by the Digital Markets Act, allowing developers to offer their own app stores without paying commissions. However, rivals such as Spotify and Epic argue that Apple still makes it difficult to provide alternative app stores.
