The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly moved closer to filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. The DOJ has investigated the iPhone-maker over the past several years and begun to actually write a potential suit.
The government agency has looked into many aspects of Apple’s business and there’s no clear word on whether the complaint will be about the App Store or something else.
Department of Justice may yet take Apple to court
The DOJ has been looking into the business practices of all the Big Tech companies for years. Amazon, Facebook and Google are all facing scrutiny. Apple is on the list, too.
“Department officials have made clear that both Apple’s App Store and mobile phone operating systems at large are under scrutiny,” according to Politico.
It’s been looking into the App Store since at least 2020. Others have criticized Apple’s refusal to allow alternative in-app payment systems. Plus, the company takes a 15% to 30% cut of all developer revenues, including from devs that make software that competes with Apple’s own.
Another product that might come up in any antitrust lawsuit is AirTag, Apple’s item tracker. “DOJ is focused heavily on public complaints leveled by Tile, a maker of devices and technology used to find lost items,” reports Politico. Tile says Apple gave its own tracker unfair advantages.
While the Department of Justice has moved to a new phase in its probe of Apple, nothing may come of it in the end. Politico‘s sources tell it that “the Justice Department has made no decisions whether or when to sue Apple.”
