A large-scale accusation puts Apple once again under the spotlight of American justice. With a lawsuit launched by the United States Department of Justice and supported by 16 states, a new chapter opens in the long history of disputes between regulatory authorities and the Cupertino giant.
This time, the focus of the dispute is an alleged “iPhone monopoly”, an issue that goes far beyond the simple sale of smartphones…
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Apple under accusation: why?
A disturbing monopoly, which today has reached proportions impossible to ignore. The recent lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice and 16 US states against Apple is the culmination of growing tension between big tech companies and regulators globally.
At the center of the debate is the accusation that Apple has created a true “iPhone monopoly” through anti-competitive practices that extend their impact well beyond the smartphone market, also influencing financial services, fitness, gaming, the media, and other sectors.
The legal action therefore has the declared objective of opening the smartphone market to competition, with the ultimate aim of lowering prices for consumers, reducing costs for developers and preserving future innovation.
This is nothing new. Apple’s App Store has long been at the center of legal disputes, with the company having faced countless other no-holds-barred legal battles in the past, such as the one against Epic Games.
Controversies which, time after time, have highlighted the restrictions imposed by Apple and the tariffs applied to developers for in-app purchases, in a real hegemony that regulators are now trying to counter.
The heart of the current issue is therefore the accusation that Apple has built an anti-competitive “moat” around its products, thus hindering competition.
The Justice Department specifically aims to prevent Apple from leveraging its control over app distribution to restrict cross-platform technologies such as super apps and cloudstreaming apps.
He also intends to prohibit Apple’s use of private APIs to penalize the same technologies in areas such as messaging, smartwatches and digital wallets, as well as ending the use of Apple’s terms and conditions of contracts to maintain or extend its monopoly.
Apple’s response
In response, Apple has fiercely defended its policies and practices, arguing that a successful lawsuit would hinder its ability to create technology that lives up to the expectations of its passionate consumers and set a dangerous precedent for government intervention in technology design.
However, the issue fits into a broader context of regulation and supervision of large technology companies as already declared several times by the administration of President Joe Biden, which has made the application of antitrust rules a priority.
The lawsuit against Apple also comes at a time when global regulation is becoming increasingly stringent for technology companies. It seems that the West is determined to put an end to the anarchy of big tech.
For example, in the European Union, the recently introduced Digital Markets Act imposes new rules to promote greater competition in digital markets, forcing companies like Apple to open their ecosystems to third-party app stores.
In parallel, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have taken legal action against other large technology companies, such as Google and Amazon, for alleged anti-competitive practices, demonstrating a growing determination by regulators to address potential abuses of market power in the technology sector and to promote an environment that stimulates competitiveness and innovation.
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