The U.S. Department of Justice and 16 state and district attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market, reports The Verge.
The Department of Justice accuses the company of raising prices for services and products for users and developers because many consumers own and rely on iPhones. The lawsuit claims that Apple selectively imposes contractual restrictions on developers and hides important ways to access smartphone features.
“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,” DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Jonathan Kanter said in a statement.
They cite several ways in which Apple maintains its monopoly. For example, sabotaging super apps that could break users’ dependence on iOS and make it easier to switch to competitors’ smartphones, banning game cloud streaming services, and restricting messaging between iPhone and Android. They also mention limiting the functionality of competitors’ smartwatches and prohibiting developers from creating third-party digital wallets that use NFC.
Representatives of the company have already responded to this lawsuit, saying that the government is threatening the principles that distinguish Apple products in the market. The company also said that if this lawsuit is successful, it will undermine Apple’s ability to create the technologies that are expected of it.
“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,” the statement reads.
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