After an extended period of antitrust scrutiny, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is on the brink of initiating a lawsuit against tech giant Apple, with the action anticipated to be formally announced by Thursday. This development follows a comprehensive investigation that began in 2019 following a complaint lodged by Spotify, alleging anticompetitive practices. Over the subsequent years, several of Apple's competitors have joined the fray, escalating the case with additional grievances in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
A Bloomberg report has highlighted that the DOJ is now poised to take definitive legal action against Apple, citing antitrust violations as the core issue. The impending lawsuit, which could be filed as early as Thursday, marks a significant shift from previous years, where indications of legal action did not materialize into an actual lawsuit.
For years, the investigation appeared to be in a state of limbo, with repeated intimations of a lawsuit that never came to fruition. However, the trajectory seemed to change following a pre-filing meeting that Apple had with the DOJ in February 2024, setting the stage for the forthcoming legal challenge. Although filing the lawsuit represents a critical step forward, it is merely the beginning of what promises to be a protracted legal battle, with Apple likely to mount a robust appeal, potentially leading to a prolonged cycle of litigation.
The DOJ may aim to secure a ruling that would grant U.S. consumers benefits similar to those under the EU Digital Markets Act, which mandated Apple to implement 600 new APIs, thereby opening iOS to alternative marketplaces and payment methods. The U.S. government might leverage these developments as a basis to advocate for comparable regulatory compliance in the U.S. market.
The news of the DOJ's impending lawsuit against Apple emerged shortly after U.S. businesses voiced their frustrations over Apple's practices related to anti-steering policies. While it remains to be seen how U.S. courts will rule on this matter, there is speculation that significant modifications to Apple's business model could be mandated, although the specifics of such changes are yet to be determined.
