In the following six months, the case might be filed.
According to The New York Times, the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States of America may initiate “a sweeping antitrust case” against Apple as early as the first half of this year. According to the source, the agency is currently in “the late stages” of its inquiry, which is centred on the company’s dominance over hardware and software services, as well as the manner in which its “walled garden” approach has allegedly made it more difficult for competitors to compete and for customers to move to competing goods.
As stated in the story published by the New York Times, the scope of the probe has also extended beyond what was previously revealed, as said by individuals who are familiar with the discussions. There are a number of areas that have supposedly been included in its scope, including the fact that the Apple Watch is more tightly linked with iPhone services than other wearables, as well as the fact that it prevents other platforms from accessing iMessage.
It has been revealed that executives from Beeper, which had a public spat with Apple in the latter part of the previous year due to the iPhone manufacturer’s decision to restrict the integration of the app’s iMessage functionality on Android, had conversations with investigators. Tile, a company that has been manufacturing Bluetooth trackers for a very long time—far before the AirTag was even a thing—is said to have met with the Department of Justice as well. It has been reported that the government has “conversations with” representatives from banking and payment apps regarding Apple’s practice of preventing competitors from adopting tap-to-pay on the iPhone.
It is also stated that Meta had conversations with investigators. It is said that the social media business “encouraged” the Department of Justice to investigate Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) privacy function during the meetings that it held. In 2021, ATT was introduced, and it gives users the ability to prevent marketers from collecting data. Meta estimated in 2022 that this feature may cost the company $10 billion in that year. According to the New York Times, investigators have also looked at Apple’s cut of digital sales made on the iPhone. This is a point that Spotify, Epic Games, and Match Group, a dating firm, have been vociferous about in recent years.
There are now a lot of antitrust cases involving big tech companies that the federal government is dealing with. Meta and Amazon have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission, while the Department of Justice is conducting two antitrust cases against Google (one for search and another for advertising).