Apple has been facing more and more pushback over its corporate practices over the last few years now. That includes things like the App Store’s associated fees, support for third-party payment options within Apple’s digital storefront, and more. Most of that pressure has been coming from international government bodies, like South Korea, but Apple may see similar actions in the United States soon, too.
At least, that’s what a report from Politico states, based on information gathered from an unnamed source. That same source says that nothing is finalized just yet, saying that it’s just a “potential” move by the United States Department of Justice, and that things could change in the future. Which means that while it appears some moves are being made towards an antitrust suit against Apple, it may not come to fruition at all.
If it does, though, the source indicates the DOJ could filed its antitrust suit against Apple before the end of 2022.
These are not entirely new waters for Apple, even in the United States. Pretty recently, the government did launch an antitrust investigation against the company back in 2019, but that did not ultimately lead to any major changes Apple needed to make. That look into Apple’s business practices focused primarily on the App Store, third-party payment options, device repairs, and more. But, that investigation wasn’t solely focused on Apple, but rather included a variety of different major tech companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Google.
This report states that the DOJ’s antitrust suit, if it does move forward, would likely cover not just the App Store or third-party payment options, but also include Apple’s control over its own range of devices. The DOJ is reportedly looking to find if that control over its released hardware does damage to other companies, too.
As it stands, it appears that nothing is set in stone just yet. But, considering the end of this year is rapidly approaching, we may be hearing more about this sooner rather than later.