DOJ, 16 States Sue Apple Over Alleged Smartphone Monopoly

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and 16 state attorneys general sued Apple on Thursday accusing the Cupertino, California-based tech giant of operating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in New Jersey, Apple has used the enormous popularity of the iPhone to “engage in a broad, sustained and illegal course of conduct.”

Specifically, the plaintiffs assert that Apple violated antitrust by preventing other companies from offering applications that compete with Apple products. 

These efforts, the DOJ and attorneys general say, deprive consumers of choice and directly injure smaller companies that want to compete with some of Apple’s services.

“Each step in Apple’s course of conduct built and reinforced the moat around its smartphone monopoly,” the lawsuit states.

“Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate the antitrust laws,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a written statement. 

“We allege that 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,” he continued. 

“If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce antitrust laws that protect consumers from higher prices and fewer choices. That is the Justice Department’s legal obligation and what the American people expect and deserve,” Garland said.

Apple has successfully defeated other antitrust challenges in the past,

In 2020, it persuaded a judge hearing a similar suit over its App Store policies that consumers who didn’t like them could switch from the iPhone to another system, like Google’s Android.

In a statement, Apple said the new lawsuit “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets.” 

“If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple,” the statement continued. “It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering the government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”

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