The iPhone maker is the last of the major tech companies in recent years to face U.S. antitrust action.
The Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general filed a sweeping antitrust case against Apple on Thursday, accusing the $2.7 trillion company of violating antitrust law by illegally monopolizing smartphone markets and raising costs for consumers, developers, artists and others.
Attorneys general in 15 states including California, New Jersey, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., joined the complaint, filed in New Jersey federal court.
“For years, Apple responded to competitive threats by imposing a series of ‘Whac-A-Mole’ contractual rules and restrictions that have allowed Apple to extract higher prices from consumers, impose higher fees on developers and creators, and to throttle competitive alternatives from rival technologies,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Apple disputed the allegations in a statement. “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets,” the company said. “It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it.”
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The DOJ and a group of state AGs just filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
They accused the $2.7 trillion company of illegally monopolizing smartphone markets and raising costs for consumers, developers, artists and others. https://t.co/1YlxTeNGFq
— POLITICO (@politico) March 21, 2024
Attorney General Merrick Garland: "Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market, not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating federal antitrust law."
The Justice Department sued Apple on Thursday, alleging the company illegally… pic.twitter.com/AQ5oSIlgfd
— The Hill (@thehill) March 21, 2024
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