DOJ Reportedly Stepping Up Apple’s Antitrust Investigation

Justice Department officials stepped up efforts to prepare a potential antitrust complaint against Apple, according to a report released Wednesday.

Although an antitrust investigation into Apple’s business began in 2019, the Justice Department has “intensified” efforts by bringing more lawyers into the case and issuing new requests for relevant documents and consultations with the affected companies, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. situation. matter.

The DOJ investigation is focused on whether the tech titan, run by Tim Cook, was involved in anti-competitive business practices.

Investigators are reportedly looking into Apple’s policy on third-party apps on its devices and whether its IOS operating system favors its own software products over software products developed by other firms.

The department is also evaluating the extent to which Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, should be involved in Apple’s investigation.

Kanter was reportedly “suspended” because of his past job representing clients who accused Apple of anti-competitive business practices, but sources told the magazine that the department has since reviewed whether it should be allowed to oversee the case and likely let him participate.

The Justice Department declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple shares rose about 1% in intraday trading on Wednesday.

Antitrust scrutiny of Apple and other big tech giants has tightened in recent years, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle vowing to crack down on firms accused of cracking down on competition.

Criticism of Apple’s business practices has mostly focused on its App Store, where the company takes a 30% commission on paid downloads and in-app purchases for developers who earn $1 million or more in annual revenue. Apple claims its methods encourage competition in the online marketplace, where third-party developers compete against its own products.

The App Store has faced criticism from the likes of Elon Musk, who compared it to a “30 percent internet tax” last year, and from Fortnite creator Epic Games, which fought a high-profile legal battle against Apple that ended in litigation. . separate verdict.

The scope of the Justice Department’s investigation allegedly goes beyond the App Store and investigates whether Apple is using iOS to market its software and hardware products at the expense of competitors. Apple has limited access to iOS, its iMessage messaging platform, and other apps for its iPhones.

The Justice Department has a couple of pending lawsuits against Google. Last month, the agency joined eight states in suing Google’s parent company Alphabet for allegedly monopolizing the digital advertising market.