Tim Cook dismisses misguided DOJ lawsuit in the shadow of strong earnings
Ahead of Apple's second-quarter earnings call, CEO Tim Cook addressed the ongoing antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice, calling it "misguided."
Tim Cook dismisses DOJ claims as "misguided"
Apple's second-quarter earnings, which surpassed Wall Street predictions, highlight the company's financial strength and resilience. In the same breath, CEO Tim Cook addressed the ongoing antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), dismissing it as misguided and affirming it's not a distraction for Apple.
"I think the case is misguided, and we're going to fight it," Cook said in a comment to CNBC. " It's my job to make sure it doesn't become a distraction. And so, you know, if you look at what they're trying to do, is essentially use the law to define how we design products. And that shouldn't be like that."
The DOJ claims Apple has stifled competition by enforcing restrictive contracts and high commissions on developers, among other issues. However, Apple counters these allegations.
It highlights discrepancies in how market share is calculated -- pointing out that Apple's share based on unit sales is less than half in the US, despite claims exceeding 65% revenue-based market share.
Apple defends its position, citing that 85% of developers don't pay any commissions, and the rest may qualify for a reduced 15% fee. The company also references its previous legal victory against Epic Games as a testament to the legitimacy of its commission structures.
The lawsuit also accuses Apple of limiting the functionality of competing apps and services through its control over APIs and other platform capabilities. Apple rebuts, asserting that its policies aim to protect user privacy, enhance security, and improve overall user experience, not stifle competition.
Moreover, adjustments in its guidelines have made provisions for more inclusive operations of services like game streaming on its platforms.
The case is not expected to come to a conclusion for years, and appeals will take even longer.
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Comments
It's like Merrick Garland has nothing better to do than randomly pick a high profile target and then dream up some litigation that he hopes will make himself and the DOJ look good, as per their thinking they are doing all this for "the American people" or "the greater good." But what they really are doing is wasting taxpayer dollars for show. With that said, most Americans are technically at fault for not showing more outrage over this DOJ lawsuit. People just mindlessly go about their day, then suddenly complain when things get more expensive. That's right, your tax dollars at work, making things more expensive for you in the end, which is the inverse opposite of what the DOJ claims this lawsuit is supposed to do (making prices of Apple stuff cheaper for the consumer).
And I don’t see any country (outside of China or Russia) specifying what the commission from Apple should be. They can complain that it is too “high”, but this is a foolish argument — why do you consider it high, and high compared to what? Apple could, and probably will at least in the ESU, end up charging a fee for each use of every API and developer tool they have developed.
it’s okay and expected for Apple to just keep buying up whatever it wants and taking over whatever it wants. Right? The idea now of two people starting a new company in their garage like Jobs and Wozniak did many years ago and becoming successful is nearly impossible. That ship has sailed. Instead, we now have huge companies that just buy and take over other small companies who have something innovative.