According to sources, the Justice Department is in the early phases of crafting a prospective antitrust complaint against Apple.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ), which has already filed antitrust lawsuits against Meta (Facebook) and Google, is reportedly preparing one against Apple. The case will claim that Apple misused its market power to squelch relatively small tech companies, including app makers and contending hardware manufacturers.
However it is yet to be decided by DOJ if or when to sue Apple, and there is still a chance that no case will be filed.
Since 2019, the Justice Department has been looking into claims that Apple misused its market dominance to impede more up-and-coming tech firms.
European antitrust observers have filed infringement lawsuits against Apple over how the iPhone handles tap-to-pay technology and the prices it charges for the App Store.
In May, a US judge rejected Apple’s request to have an amended antitrust lawsuit brought by the maker of Cydia, an app store for iPhones that have been pirated, dismissed.
In his initial lawsuit against Apple in 2020, Cydia developer Jay Freeman claimed that the company had unjustly obtained and retained monopolistic control in iOS software distribution and payments. In 2018, Freeman closed the Cydia shop.