The Department of Justice has instituted a lawsuit against Apple accusing it of enforcing a monopoly in the premium smartphone segment by using Illegal and uncompetitive methods to maintain its dominant position. The lawsuit also alleges that Apple forces both the developers and its customers to pay for its services.
Apple Faces DOJ Lawsuit
The antitrust lawsuit which is about 88 pages long has been filed by the US Department of Justice but was also joined by attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia in a Federal Court. The lawsuit alleges that Apple has cornered 70 percent of the market of the premium smartphone segment. Apple has also enforced stringent controls over its ecosystem making it almost impossible to be compatible with any other ecosystem. The eco system has been designed in a way that it squeezes both the developers and the consumers accruing more revenues in the process.
The antitrust was long in making and was expected since the DOJ was becoming increasingly vocal against such uncompetitive practices. The lawsuit is historical since the outcome will chart the future path of technology. In its filing with the DOJ the meteoric rise of Apple could be attributed to the 1998 antitrust case against Microsoft and it is time for another landmark antitrust intervention for the future of tech and innovation.
The lawsuit clearly underlines the fact Apple has enforced a strict control on both the hardware and the software of its products and has squeezed all the competitions making it almost impossible for the competitors to enter the market without giving consumers any other alternatives.
The latest lawsuit comes close on the heels of a hefty fine of $1.95 billion by the European Commission on Apple on charges which are incredibly similar to the charges which have been brought forward in the DOJ lawsuit. The European Commission has singled out Apple’s policies with regard to music streaming services.
Apple has also been indicted for monopolizing the software app market by exercising its control of iOS and choked competition and preceded the birth of competing and alternative apps and service.
It has also prevented the integration of other competing ecosystems like Android platforms and has obstructed other payment platforms. Apple is not improving the user experience but stifling competition and thus maintaining its dominant position in the smartphone sector.
The lawsuit reminds one of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in the 1990s.Many are drawing similarities with the two cases and Attorney General Merrick Garland himself acknowledged that there are striking similarities.
However there are deviations also –While Microsoft has a practical monopoly on the OS for computers, this cannot be said about Apple.
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