Apple might be facing the US antitrust council as early as March as the Justice Department is reportedly preparing to file a suit, as per Bloomberg.
US Antitrust Council Investigates Apple
Since 2019, Apple has been under the lens of the antitrust enforcers. According to them, Apple has been restricting its rivals to reach iPhone and iPad users by imposing software and hardware limitations.
Over the years, several companies such as Spotify, Life360, and the messaging company Beeper have been raising the same concern against Apple's anticompetitive behavior. Meanwhile, the Justice Department confirmed that they have already discussed three times with Apple lawyers about the potential suit.
As of writing, the department informed that most of the senior antitrust officials have not yet signed on the complaint to proceed with the filing. However, the earliest possible filing could be in the first quarter of the year.
US Antitrust Council Pushes Crackdown of Tech Giants
Although the council has been investigating Apple for years, the antitrust officers prioritized the twin cases against Alphabet's Google. In 2023, Google faced an antitrust trial from the Justice Department and also from Epic.
Once the lawsuit is filed, this will be the fourth antitrust case under the Biden administration. As of writing, the government is also probing investigations against Meta and Amazon.
As for other tech giants in the US, the European Union has been making waves in enforcing changes to the companies' policies using the Digital Markets Act.
Under the EU, companies like Meta, Amazon, and Apple have been implementing changes in their marketplace and App Store to comply with the antitrust council.
