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The U. S. Department of Justice sued Apple today, alleging that the company violated antitrust law by restricting competition to iPhone features and monopolizing the smartphone market.
The lawsuit in U. S. District Courtfor the District of New Jersey alleged that “Apple is removing. . . It innovates through a web of contractual constraints that it selectively enforces through its app distribution and “app review” process, as well as through denying access to key connection issues between apps and the iPhone’s operating formula (called application programming interfaces, or “APIs”). Apple can enforce those restrictions because of its position as an intermediary between product creators, such as developers, on the one hand, and users, on the other. another one. “
The Justice Department issued an order determining that Apple illegally monopolized the smartphone market in the United States. The company also needs the requested order to prevent Apple from continuing its allegedly anti-competitive practices.
The Justice Department said an injunction deserves, at the very least, to save Apple “from employing its excessive app distribution to undermine cross-platform technologies like super apps and cloud streaming apps,” and to prevent Apple from “employing personal APIs to undermine cross-distribution. “platform technologies such as messaging, smartwatches, and virtual wallets,” and will prevent Apple from “using the terms and situations of its contracts with developers, accessory manufacturers, consumers, or others to obtain, maintain, expand, or consolidate a monopoly. “”.
The Department of Justice has defined “super apps” as those that offer “broad capability in a single app. “These apps that Apple has allegedly mined “can be played on smartphones by offering a consistent user experience that can be transferred across devices. “the Justice Department said.
In a reaction provided to Ars, Apple said that “the lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that distinguish Apple products in incredibly competitive markets. If successful, it would obstruct our ability to create the kind of generation that other people expect from Apple. “— where hardware, software, and facilities intersect. It would also set a harmful precedent, by allowing the government to take a heavy hand in designing other people’s generation. We know that this trial is flawed in fact and in law, and we will vigorously guard against ourselves. it. “
More main points about the trial will be found in this article.
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