A famed Apple advertising campaign exhorted customers to “think different”. In a sweeping antitrust lawsuit the US on Thursday alleged that the iPhone maker had betrayed that slogan, locking millions of its users into a powerful monopoly that has made it one of the most valuable companies in the world.
The long-awaited lawsuit is a watershed moment for Apple. For years it was one of the few Big Tech companies to avoid major antitrust action by the US. Now it is under intense scrutiny from regulators in two of its key markets, the US and the EU. Its responses have indicated it is steeling itself for an existential battle.
Apple said the US case “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets”. A loss would set a “dangerous precedent” by allowing the government to influence how technology markets developed, it added.
The new US lawsuit is broad and detailed, painting a picture of a company that has spent years knowingly heading off competitive threats to its ecosystem, be it on the App Store, in messaging with rival Android phones, on its “tap to pay” service, or in the smartwatch market.
Article without the paywall here: https://www.archivebuttons.com/articles?article=https://www.ft.com/content/b1c7913f-cec2-47ea-9566-f65953c875fe
Leave a Reply