Apple is facing another antitrust lawsuit, this time from the US government.
Earlier today, the The United States Department of Justice announced that it will sue Apple for monopolizing the smartphone market. The lawsuit has been filed by the Department of Justice, 15 other state and district attorneys general, and Washington, D.C., in the District Court of New Jersey.
In the lawsuit, the Justice Department alleges that Apple engages in “anticompetitive conduct,” using tactics such as making it difficult for consumers to switch to other smartphone platforms, maintaining a closed system that is incompatible with apps and peripherals from other companies, and block third-party digital wallets. Perhaps most relevant to gaming is the claim that Apple has blocked the development of cloud streaming gaming apps.
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The demand (rise to Department of Justice website) seeks to prevent Apple from engaging in anti-competitive practices, including “controlling app distribution to undermine cross-platform technologies,” “using private APIs to undermine cross-platform technologies,” and using contracts with “developers, accessory manufacturers, consumers or others to obtain, maintain, expand or consolidate a monopoly”.
“We allege that Apple has consolidated its monopoly power not by improving its own products, but by making other products worse,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Press conference held by the DOJ, where it accused Apple of “illegal and exclusionary behavior” to maintain its monopoly. “If left unchecked, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly,” Garland added.
In a statement sent to the BBC, Apple denied the accusations. “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets,” the company said. “We believe this lawsuit is factually and legally flawed, and we will vigorously defend against it.”
BBC sources have stated that The European Commission of the EU He is expected to announce a similar investigation into Apple, Meta and Google.
This is not the first time that the US government has criticized Apple for monopolistic behavior. In 2020, a House of Representatives report denounced the 30 percent cut in Apple's App Store.
If the European Commission also investigates Apple for anti-competitive behavior, it will be the second time in less than a month. The dispute between Epic Games and Apple sparked new tensions earlier this month, when Apple banned Epic's developer account and called the developer “provably unreliable.” After the EU announced it would intervene to investigate the measure, Apple quickly reversed the ban.
Yesterday at Epic's State of Unreal 2024, the company again discussed its plans to bring the Epic Games Store to iOS and Android in app form. Amy Hennig's Captain America and Black Panther game, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, also made its debut during the show, showcasing the impressive MetaHuman Creator in Unreal Engine 5.
