“Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate antitrust laws,” the US attorney general said
The US Department of Justice and 15 states filed civil lawsuits against Apple on Thursday as the government claims the company, which makes iPhonecreates a monopoly in the mobile phone market, hurts smaller competitors and raises prices.
Apple thus joins a chorus of competitors, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com, who have faced civil challenges from regulators under the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
“Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate antitrust laws,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Left unhindered, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly.”
The Ministry of Justice announced that Apple charges up to $1,599 for an iPhone and makes more profit than any other company in the industry. Officials also say that Apple behind the scenes bills its various business partners — from software companies to credit card companies and even rivals like Google — in ways that ultimately raise prices for consumers and boost Apple’s bottom line.
Ever since it was a marginal player in the personal computer market, Apple’s business model has been based on charging users extra for technology products in which the company dictates almost every detail of how its devices work and can be used. The Justice Department is seeking to change that business model by forcing Apple, a company with a market value of $2.7 trillion, to give users more choices about how apps can work on the devices Apple designs.
Shares of the iPhone maker fell 4.1% yesterday, Thursday, to close at $171.37.
OR Apple she denied the charges brought against her by the government.
“This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that have set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it will hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple – the intersection of device, software and services.”the company said in a statement.
White House Assistant Press Secretary Michael Kikukawa said: “President Biden strongly supports fair and strong enforcement of antitrust laws.”
The 88 page lawsuitfiled in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, focuses, according to the Department of Justice – in which the Washington Capital District also participates – “in freeing the smartphone market from Apple’s anti-competitive behavior ».
