The Justice Department’s lawsuit against Apple seeks to end the company’s notoriously tight grip on the iPhone, which has helped it become one of the world’s largest and most successful firms.
Fifteen US states and the District of Columbia have joined the Justice Department in the Biden administration’s first major antitrust case against the iPhone maker.
Regardless of the court outcome, the case has already shed light on Apple’s two faces: the sleek, high-end tech brand that buyers admire, and the ruthless, unavoidable monster that developers despise.
Apple has a reputation for suppressing competition and charging developers outrageous fees. If the lawsuit succeeds, the US Justice Department might require Apple to lift some of the limits it has imposed, which Apple claims are intended to provide a seamless experience for consumers while keeping devices reasonably safe from harmful apps and viruses.
Apple is also under fire in Europe, where the European Commission plans to investigate it alongside Meta and Alphabet’s Google.
In the coming days, the commission will most likely announce investigations into whether the companies violated Europe’s Digital Markets Act.
