XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.society.liberalism   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   The Department of Justice sued Apple   
    on Thursday, saying its iPhone ecosystem is a monopoly that drove its   
   “astronomical valuation” at the expense of consumers, developers and rival   
   phone makers.   
      
   The government has not ruled out breaking up one of the largest companies   
   in the world, with a Justice Department official saying on a briefing call   
   that structural relief was on the table if the U.S. were to win.   
      
   The lawsuit claims Apple’s anti-competitive practices extend beyond the   
   iPhone and Apple Watch businesses, citing Apple’s advertising, browser,   
   FaceTime and news offerings.   
      
   “Each step in Apple’s course of conduct built and reinforced the moat   
   around its smartphone monopoly,” according to the suit, filed by the DOJ   
   and 16 attorneys general in New Jersey federal court.   
      
   Apple shares fell more than 4% during trading Thursday. A breakup of Apple   
   if successful would be one of only a handful of breakups under the Sherman   
   Act. The DOJ has considered using it in other antitrust cases, but has not   
   done so since the breakup of the Bell System in 1982.   
      
   The Justice Department said in a release that to keep consumers buying   
   iPhones, Apple moved to block cross-platform messaging apps, limited   
   third-party wallet and smartwatch compatibility, and disrupted non-App   
   Store programs and cloud streaming services.   
      
   The challenge represents a significant risk to Apple’s walled-garden   
   business model. The company says that complying with regulations costs it   
   money, could prevent it from introducing new products or services, and   
   could hurt customer demand.   
      
   The lawsuit could force Apple to make changes in some of its most valuable   
   businesses: The iPhone, in which Apple reported more than $200 billion in   
   sales in 2023, the Apple Watch, part of the company’s $40 billion   
   wearables business, and its profitable services line, which reported $85   
   billion in revenue.   
      
   U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference that the   
   Supreme Court defines monopoly power as “the power to control prices or   
   exclude competition.”   
      
   “As set out in our complaint, Apple has that power in the smartphone   
   market,” Garland said. “If left unchallenged. Apple will only continue to   
   strengthen its smartphone monopoly.”   
      
   Apple said in a statement that it disagreed with the premise of the   
   lawsuit and that it would defend against it.   
      
   “This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple   
   products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it would   
   hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from   
   Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect,” an Apple   
   spokesperson told CNBC. “It would also set a dangerous precedent,   
   empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s   
   technology.”   
      
   The lawsuit follows years of investigations into Apple’s business   
   practices and two prior DOJ cases against Apple: One over e-book prices   
   and another over allegations that it colluded with other technology   
   companies to depress salaries.   
      
   “This anticompetitive behavior is designed to maintain Apple’s monopoly   
   power while extracting as much revenue as possible,” the complaint said.   
      
   iMessage, Apple Watch and cloud gaming   
   The complaint highlights comments from CEO Tim Cook and other executives.   
   Some users have asked Apple to improve Android-to-iPhone messaging.   
   Developers have gone as far as creating apps that can circumvent the   
   platform limitations, only to be shut down by Apple.   
      
   Prosecutors highlighted one exchange between Cook and a consumer.   
      
   “Not to make it personal but I can’t send my mom certain videos,” the   
   complaint says one user told Cook, referring to a 2022 interview at a Vox   
   Media event.   
      
   “Buy your mom an iPhone,” Cook responded.   
      
   The DOJ is also focusing on Apple’s smartwatch, Apple Watch, saying the   
   company designed it to only work with iPhones, and not Android devices.   
   The company’s decision means that “users who purchase the Apple Watch face   
   substantial out-of-pocket costs if they do not keep buying iPhones,”   
   according to the complaint.   
      
   The Justice Department said Apple has fought cloud streaming services on   
   its App Store platform, blocking consumer access to high-quality video   
   games on iPhones, echoing complaints from Microsoft and Facebook parent   
   Meta.   
      
   Garland said the DOJ is also looking at changing policies around Apple   
   Wallet, the company’s app for phone-based credit cards and payments.   
      
   “When an iPhone user puts a credit or debit card in Apple Wallet, Apple   
   inserts itself into the process that would otherwise occur directly   
   between the user and the card issuer,” Garland said.   
      
   Apple has faced several significant antitrust challenges more recently,   
   largely focused on its control over the iPhone App Store. It mostly won in   
   a civil suit against Epic Games in 2021, although it made concessions   
   during the trial and had to make some changes to its policies under   
   California law.   
      
   “Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Apple accountable and ensure it cannot   
   deploy the same, unlawful playbook in other vital markets,” the U.S.   
   government said in the release.   
      
   Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for antitrust, argued during   
   the Thursday news conference that Apple benefited from previous DOJ   
   antitrust actions against Microsoft.   
      
   “Apple itself was a significant beneficiary of that case,” Kanter said.   
   “And the remedy paved the way for Apple to launch iTunes, iPod, eventually   
   the iPhone, free from anti-competitive restrictions, excessive fees and   
   retaliation.”   
      
   The company is currently jockeying with the European Commission over   
   whether it’s complying with the new EU Digital Markets Act, which forces   
   Apple to open up the iPhone app store to rivals such as Microsoft or Epic   
   Games. Apple plans to charge big companies that eschew its app store 50   
   cents per download.   
      
   Apple was fined $2 billion by the EU over a dispute with Spotify   
    about whether the music streaming service can link to its website and   
   account system inside of its app.   
      
   Apple had 64% of the market share for U.S. smartphones in the last quarter   
   of 2023, versus 18% for Samsung, according to Counterpoint Research.   
      
   Apple isn’t the only big tech company facing government scrutiny. The DOJ   
   filed an antitrust case against Google in 2020 over its dominant search   
   position and in another year over its advertising business. The DOJ also   
   famously sued Microsoft in the 1990s, eventually forcing it to allow users   
   to unbundle the Internet Explorer browser from the Windows operating   
   system.   
      
   Correction: This story has been updated to correct that Apple had 64% of   
   the market share for U.S. smartphones in the last quarter of 2023,   
   according to Counterpoint Research.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)