US Readying a Massive Antitrust Case on Apple in 2024: Report

It seems that another antitrust case is waiting for Apple just around the corner and this time it will be from its home soil. According to areport by The New York Times, The Justice Department of the US is close to launching an antitrust case against Apple for practices that keep the iPhone in a dominant position in the market and make a barrier for users who want to switch to other devices.

According to sources close to the investigation, The Department of Justice is on the verge of completing the investigation and could launch a sweeping antitrust case against Apple in the first half of 2024.

Apple Antitrust Case Possible Accusations

The investigation by the US government is set to target Apple’s closed ecosystem which it takes pride in and the investigation could lead to the following possible accusations on the tech giant.

The NY Times report says that the upcoming antitrust case on Apple will be unlike the previous cases. This time the court will question Apple on the tight integration of core Apple devices and services like the iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple Pay, and Siri.

Apple has been subjected to antitrust allegations in the past as well but at that time the company admitted that its business model does not violate the antitrust law. Tim Cook appeared before that antitrust committee in 2020 andsaid in his testimonythat “Apple does not have a dominant market share in any market where we do business. That is not just true for iPhone; it is true for any product category“.

However, complaints have been piling up on Apple from rivals as it is perceived that Apple dominates the market by monopolizing its exclusive services and products.

Beebom’s Take

The pressure is mounting on Apple from regulators worldwide. After Apple was forced to abandon its proprietary Lightning port in favor of a USB-C port to comply with EU laws, the next inescapable decision that Apple has to take is to allow sideloading. While it was expected that Apple would roll out sideloading in iOS 17, we haven’t seen the feature so far. Recently, it was revealed that Japan is also planning to force Apple to allow sideloading and then this upcoming antitrust case could be a challenging situation for the tech titan.

While it is clear that Apple does enjoy a dominant position in the market from exclusivity and exclusionary practices. The Justice Department could force Apple to allow access to its services to rivals. On the other hand, Apple could argue that its business model is based on exclusivity by design and its dominance, therefore, does not violate any anticompetitive law.

Apple’s antitrust case could be the highlight of 2024 and may change the course of business for the Tim Cook-headed company altogether.

Anmol Sachdeva

With 6 years of experience as a writer and editor in the tech media industry, Anmol is an enigmatic savant in all kinds of tech. He loves to scour internet for new information. When not conjuring words, Anmol can be found watching Manchester United matches or glued to his MacBook watching re-runs of his favorite TV shows for upteenth time.

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