WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing to sue Apple as soon as March 21 for allegedly violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features of its iPhone, Bloomberg News reported on March 20.
Taking action against Big Tech has been one of the few issues that Democrats and Republicans have agreed on.
During the Trump administration, which ended in 2021, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opened probes into Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon.
A DOJ spokesperson and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
It is not clear what the focus of the charges would be, but makers of hardware devices, like smart tracker maker Tile, have long complained that Apple has restricted the ways in which they can work with the iPhone’s sensors while developing competing products that have greater access.
Apple began selling Airtags – which can be attached to items like car keys to help users find them when they are lost – several years after Tile had been selling a similar product.
Similarly, Apple has restricted access to a chip in the iPhone that allows for contactless payments.
Credit cards can be added to the iPhone only by using Apple’s own Apple Pay service.
And Apple has also faced criticism over its iMessage service, which works only on Apple devices.
Apple has long argued that it restricts access to some user data and some of the iPhone’s hardware by third-party developers for privacy and security reasons.
Late in February, Bloomberg News had reported that Apple representatives met with DOJ officials in a bid to persuade the agency not to file an antitrust suit against the company.
A new antitrust suit against Apple would be the third by the DOJ in the past 14 years, but it is the first case accusing the iPhone maker of illegally maintaining its dominant position, the Bloomberg report added.
Apple is also in the midst of an antitrust-related tussle with Fortnite video game maker Epic Games.
On March 20, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, X and Match Group joined Epic Games’ protest that Apple has failed to honour a court-ordered injunction governing payments in its lucrative App Store.
The technology giants behind some of the most popular apps on the App Store said Apple was in “clear violation” of the September 2021 injunction by making it difficult to steer consumers to cheaper means to pay for digital content.
The DOJ has sued Google twice – once under Republican Donald Trump regarding its search business and a second time on advertising technology since Democratic President Joe Biden took office.
The FTC sued Facebook during the Trump administration, and Biden’s FTC has pressed forward with the lawsuit.
Shares of Apple were down 1.5 per cent at U$175.97 in extended trading on March 20. REUTERS
