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Apple’s bad year

24-3-2024 < Attack the System 10 214 words
 
Apple’s having a rough year.

It’s under pressure in China, pulled the plug on its EV project, just paid out $490 million in a settlement, and now it’s facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice.



The DOJ says Apple has illegally maintained a monopoly in the smartphone market by “delaying, degrading, or outright blocking” rivals from competing.



Apple is to blame for Amazon and Microsoft’s phone failures, per the DOJ, which also zeroes in on Apple’s green text bubbles. The lawsuit quotes Tim Cook joking about buying your mom an iPhone and an email Steve Jobs sent more than a decade ago.



Apple has said a win for the DOJ would set a “dangerous precedent,” and that it will “vigorously defend” itself. Analysts at Wedbush predict a settlement will be reached in 12 to 18 months.



This is just the latest example of government intervention in the tech industry. The FTC sued Amazon in September, while Google’s own antitrust trial wrapped up in November.


In some ways, the DOJ suit is history repeating itself. It was a tech antitrust lawsuit more than two decades ago that helped create space for Apple’s rise.

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