US DOJ prepping antitrust case against Apple

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2022
An anti-trust lawsuit from the Department of Justice is reportedly in the early stages of construction, further amping up the government's efforts to rein in Apple.

Apple AirTags
Apple AirTags


The US Department of Justice suit is reportedly largely focused on complaints from Tile, a company that makes location-tracking devices. Apple moved to compete with Tile and similar companies with its AirTag product.

Tile raised concerns in 2021 about AirTags and Apple's Find My app, and has raised its concerns with Congress. Along with AirTag, Apple also made it harder for companies to access location data with privacy changes.

Federal lawyers from San Francisco are leading the investigation, and have reached out to Tile's partners, according to three anonymous sources. In those meetings, both the App Store and iOS were mentioned.

For the App Store, complaints lie with Apple's rules about payment systems. Developers must use Apple for payment processing instead of a third-party company.

Epic Games, a prominent developer, led the charge against Apple with a lawsuit alleging much the same that Tile has. The federal judge in that case ruled that Apple is not a monopolist in regards to the App Store, but both sides are appealing. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled one for late October.

There is another antitrust bill moving through Congress that aims to prevent Big Tech from favoring their own services. It's currently paused as Congress is in recess.

Called the American Choice and Innovation Act, it would put restrictions on tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Google. It was revised in early 2022 to address concerns from companies and lawmakers.

Apple said the bill as originally written would create unintended privacy and security vulnerabilities for users. "We believe the proposed remedies fall far short of the protections consumers need, and urge lawmakers to make further changes to avoid these unintended consequences," the company wrote.

The changes would make it easier for Apple to defend its privacy features, but still force it to allow side-loading, a feature that lets users download apps from outside of the App Store.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Of course this is political but why are we spending taxpayer money on this when there are so many other issues concerning illegal corporate and personal activities that continue to go unchecked. IRS was decimated and rich people got away with murder yet nothing is done. I'm tired of all the attacks on Apple for really insignificant things.
    bloggerblogscstrrfbaconstangpslicelolliverspock1234Anilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 35
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    The article begins by saying that Tile has brought complaints against Apple because Apple . . . developed a product that competes with (and is better than) theirs?  Can this be true? If so, there will be literally thousands and thousands of suits by companies for the same reason. Ford vs. Chrysler, Netflix vs. Disney+, etc., etc.
    lolliverspock1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 35
    and nobody asks us, apple users!
    gilly33bloggerblogbaconstanglolliverspock1234Anilu_777watto_cobrapslice
  • Reply 4 of 35
    gilly33gilly33 Posts: 433member
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    baconstanglolliverspock1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 35
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    gilly33 said:
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    Exactly! Uber should offer Lyft services within their app
    baconstangMadbumracerhomie3lolliverspock1234Anilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 35
    geekmeegeekmee Posts: 629member
    Apple has their nerve, I mean harming customers like that.
    spock1234Anilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 35
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,120member
    rob53 said:
    Of course this is political but why are we spending taxpayer money on this when there are so many other issues concerning illegal corporate and personal activities that continue to go unchecked. IRS was decimated and rich people got away with murder yet nothing is done. I'm tired of all the attacks on Apple for really insignificant things.
    Nothing? The IRS budget is being increased* in that Inflation Reduction Act (I know that and I'm in Canada).
    *and that increase is causing shrill screams and made up stories about 80+K auditors from Fox and others on the right.

    gilly33 said:
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    This is a little different. Apple was fine with Tile, even sold Tile, but now that Airtags are out Apple seems to be making life harder for Tile and other tracker companies to work on iOS.
  • Reply 8 of 35
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    Will they be raiding  Tim Cook underwear closet over a late parking ticket?

    The government is out of control 
    edited August 2022 racerhomie3JanNLwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 35
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    mknelson said:
    rob53 said:
    Of course this is political but why are we spending taxpayer money on this when there are so many other issues concerning illegal corporate and personal activities that continue to go unchecked. IRS was decimated and rich people got away with murder yet nothing is done. I'm tired of all the attacks on Apple for really insignificant things.
    Nothing? The IRS budget is being increased* in that Inflation Reduction Act (I know that and I'm in Canada).
    *and that increase is causing shrill screams and made up stories about 80+K auditors from Fox and others on the right.

    gilly33 said:
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    This is a little different. Apple was fine with Tile, even sold Tile, but now that Airtags are out Apple seems to be making life harder for Tile and other tracker companies to work on iOS.
    Is Ford or GM making it easier for BMW to sell electric cars to sell cars in the US?
    bshanklolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 35
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    gilly33 said:
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    Exactly! Uber should offer Lyft services within their app
    Exact! How dare Walmart not be promoting Target monthly special sales on their website!!

    Government is out of control 
    edited August 2022 bshankAnilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 35
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    mknelson said:
    rob53 said:
    Of course this is political but why are we spending taxpayer money on this when there are so many other issues concerning illegal corporate and personal activities that continue to go unchecked. IRS was decimated and rich people got away with murder yet nothing is done. I'm tired of all the attacks on Apple for really insignificant things.
    Nothing? The IRS budget is being increased* in that Inflation Reduction Act (I know that and I'm in Canada).
    *and that increase is causing shrill screams and made up stories about 80+K auditors from Fox and others on the right.

    gilly33 said:
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    This is a little different. Apple was fine with Tile, even sold Tile, but now that Airtags are out Apple seems to be making life harder for Tile and other tracker companies to work on iOS.
    "IRS was decimated" is what I said. Check the news over the past 5 years. Yes, the IRA was just signed but that doesn't mean anything has been done yet and I'm not sure it will actually happen until next year. The IRS won't be up to full strength for at least a few years. As for living in Canada, good for you but that has nothing to do with what has happened or is happening. None of this actually affects you.
    bshankwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 35
    MadbumMadbum Posts: 536member
    acejax805 said:
    Cringe seeing these grown children (adults I think they're called) on this forum spouting nonsense. Half of you don't even understand what a monopoly position means. Your blind love and devotion for Apple clouds your critical thinking skills. Apple simps.
    Better to be a grown child than a moronic idiot who thinks having the over reaching government with a stick up their ass is a good thing and still saying thank you .

    Doe 49 percent Chinese owned Epic games or a company with a poor product care more about your privacy and rights than Apple?

    but this government takes their side on this? Working for the Chinese owned Epic games? 
    edited August 2022 bshanklolliverAnilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 35
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    Madbum said:
    acejax805 said:
    Cringe seeing these grown children (adults I think they're called) on this forum spouting nonsense. Half of you don't even understand what a monopoly position means. Your blind love and devotion for Apple clouds your critical thinking skills. Apple simps.
    but this government takes their [Epic's] side on this? [Biden's admin is] Working for the Chinese owned Epic games? 
    You hit the bamboo on the head with that comment. I agree.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 35
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,324member
    Yes, but who is preparing an anti-liberty case against the US Government for getting too aggressive in restricting our free-market system?

    Freedom is risky and creates trouble, but it's with it in the end.

    Leave our American, home-grown success stories alone! Even if Apple has bent some companies out of shape (who are all upset for reasons they aren't enriched even more), it hasn't done anything to warrant Big Brother stepping in a screwing everything up.  Funny part is, most of those elected officials who support this action against Apple no doubt have a significant amount of AAPL in their portfolios. Hurting Apple hurst AAPL and themselves.

    Crazy, every way you look at it.
    Madbumlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 35
    seanjseanj Posts: 318member
    Arguably Apple using its market position with iOS to leverage AirTags via the bundling of the  FindMy app. It’s the same as when Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with Windows. I imagine Apple’s lawyers would have flagged this to management long before it AirTags launched.

    The difference is AirTags is a useful product that is superior to the competition and which people prefer. Whereas IE was a complete pile of shit that Windows tried to force you to use by being the linked default browser - only later could this be changed.
    Anilu_777watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 35
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,036member
    seanj said:
    Arguably Apple using its market position with iOS to leverage AirTags via the bundling of the  FindMy app. It’s the same as when Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with Windows. I imagine Apple’s lawyers would have flagged this to management long before it AirTags launched.

    The difference is AirTags is a useful product that is superior to the competition and which people prefer. Whereas IE was a complete pile of shit that Windows tried to force you to use by being the linked default browser - only later could this be changed.
    No, it is not the same. Windows OS is unquestionably a true monopoly on desktop (including laptops) computers. Windows at the time was the OS on over 95% of the World desktop computers and still on over 70% of them today. The claim was that Microsoft was leveraging their monopoly (Windows) in one market (desktop OS), to gain marketshare in another (browser).  That can be easily construed as a violation of anti-trust laws.  

    Here, iOS is only the OS on about 23% of the Worlds mobile devices. Not even the EU is claiming that Apple has a monopoly with iOS. The EU had to pass new anti-trust laws that can be applied where a tech company only needs to have a "dominate" marketshare, even if that "dominate" marketshare is less than 25% and they have a market cap over some arbitrary amount set to exclude any non US corporations.

    The difference is that iOS is not a monopoly, as defined under current anti-trust laws, using a "relevant" market that is not artificially narrowed down to one brand.
    edited August 2022 thtlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 35
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    seanj said:
    Arguably Apple using its market position with iOS to leverage AirTags via the bundling of the  FindMy app. It’s the same as when Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with Windows. I imagine Apple’s lawyers would have flagged this to management long before it AirTags launched.

    The difference is AirTags is a useful product that is superior to the competition and which people prefer. Whereas IE was a complete pile of shit that Windows tried to force you to use by being the linked default browser - only later could this be changed.
    Any third party can make AirTag competitors that leverage the Find My network.  It doesn't compare at all for the AirTag hardware.

    Companies that run alternative networks to Find My may have some cause to complain, just like any other company who has their product Sherlocked.  
  • Reply 18 of 35
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    rob53 said:
    mknelson said:
    rob53 said:
    Of course this is political but why are we spending taxpayer money on this when there are so many other issues concerning illegal corporate and personal activities that continue to go unchecked. IRS was decimated and rich people got away with murder yet nothing is done. I'm tired of all the attacks on Apple for really insignificant things.
    Nothing? The IRS budget is being increased* in that Inflation Reduction Act (I know that and I'm in Canada).
    *and that increase is causing shrill screams and made up stories about 80+K auditors from Fox and others on the right.

    gilly33 said:
    Oh wow Apple shouldn’t favor their own services. I guess Walmart, Target et al, shouldn’t compete with and favor their own brands vs. other brands. Oh and sell them cheaper. That’s unfair business practices. What a shocker. 
    This is a little different. Apple was fine with Tile, even sold Tile, but now that Airtags are out Apple seems to be making life harder for Tile and other tracker companies to work on iOS.
    "IRS was decimated" is what I said. Check the news over the past 5 years. Yes, the IRA was just signed but that doesn't mean anything has been done yet and I'm not sure it will actually happen until next year. The IRS won't be up to full strength for at least a few years. As for living in Canada, good for you but that has nothing to do with what has happened or is happening. None of this actually affects you.
    Decimated? They have 70,000 employees and are adding 80,000 more.  They will be the biggest agency by far.  They are giving the IRS 87 *BILLION* dollars more.  As for “the rich” and corporations, that’s a red hearing.  Put simply, that’s not where the money is.  Over 90% of audits are on the middle class.  And corporations aren’t going to pay a dime more.  We will. 
    spock1234
  • Reply 19 of 35
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    Money talks and government listens. No money, no hear. 

    Apple has been successful at producing quality goods and expects to be paid for doing it. That does not make them a monopoly. 

    Sherlocking is a strange idea. It's just some competitor making a product which competes with yours and perhaps doing a better job. Just because it's Apple doesn't make it any different from any other company though they have substantially more resources to throw at such products than most so such companies are at a real disadvantage. 

    Tile had a great idea -- but you can't protect the idea using IP laws. But, a company like Tile would be underwater and bankrupt if they'd have much of the success of Apple with AirTags. Tile never had to worry about their customers illegally tracking others -- too small a customer based to attract the miscreants doing that. The success of AirTags brought the Feds into the game because how they were sometimes being used. Being big and successful can have significant downsides in this way. 
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 35
    Tile has no case; they need to innovate their own products and compete.
    The DOJ will likely not bring the antitrust because they would lose and waste tax payer money.
    watto_cobra
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