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Department of Justice accelerating its antitrust investigation into Apple

According to reports, additional litigators were assigned alongside new document requests and consultations.

Morgan Shaver

February 15, 2023 1:20 PM

Apple

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As reported by outlets like The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice (DOJ) seems to be accelerating its ongoing antitrust investigation into Apple. The investigation, which first began back in 2019, sought to look further into whether Apple has been abusing its market power to stifle competitors including smaller tech companies and app developers.

“The companies' policies for third-party apps on its devices and whether it unfairly favors its own products on its mobile operating system are two areas of focus, according to the Journal,” reports CNBC.

Recently, the investigation has accelerated with additional litigators assigned to the probe along with new document requests seen and consultations with companies related to the matter taking place in recent months. Furthermore, Politico had reported back in August that the DOJ was already in the “early stages” of drafting a potential complaint against Apple, with the latest developments appearing to support this as a possibility.

“The Apple investigation is one of a series of efforts by Congress, DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission to rein in the mammoth tech companies that have come to dominate the global internet, social media and online advertising,” Politico explained.

Apple currently faces a potential antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. government should the Justice Department decide to move forward with a complaint. This isn’t outside the realm of possibility, especially seeing as how the Justice Department already has two ongoing antitrust lawsuits against another big tech company, Google, with the first predicted to go to trial around September.

For more on this and the acceleration of the DOJ’s investigation into Apple, be sure to read through the full report from The Wall Street Journal. Once you’re caught up on that, check out some of our previous Apple coverage as well including Apple’s (AAPL) Q1 2023 Mac sales falling 28.7 percent from the prior year, and Tim Cook attributing the company’s iPhone sales miss on China’s COVID lockdowns and macroeconomic headwinds.

Morgan Shaver

Senior Editor

Morgan is a writer from the frozen wastelands of Maine who enjoys metal music, kpop, horror, and indie games. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver.