U.S. Moves Closer to Filing Sweeping Antitrust Case Against Apple::Justice Department officials are in the late stages of investigating the iPhone maker, focusing on how Apple has used its other products and services to defend against threats to its core business.
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The Justice Department is in the late stages of an investigation into Apple and could file a sweeping antitrust case taking aim at the company’s strategies to protect the dominance of the iPhone as soon as the first half of this year, said three people with knowledge of the matter.
The agency is focused on how Apple has used its control over its hardware and software to make it more difficult for consumers to ditch the company’s devices, as well as for rivals to compete, said the people, who spoke anonymously because the investigation was active.
The Justice Department is currently facing off against Google in two antitrust cases, focused on its search and ad tech businesses, while the Federal Trade Commission has sued Amazon and Meta for stifling competition.
This year, European regulators are expected to force Apple to accommodate app stores beyond its own under the Digital Markets Act, a law passed in 2022 to rein in tech giants.
When the Justice Department started its tech investigations in 2019, it prioritized its antitrust review of Google over Apple because it lacked the financial resources and personnel to fully evaluate both companies, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Executives at Beeper, a start-up that made iMessage available on Android phones, spoke with investigators about how Apple blocked it from making it possible to offer messaging across competing smartphone operating systems.
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