U.S. Justice Department Ramps Up Apple Investigation Amid Antitrust Concerns

The U.S. Department of Justice has escalated its antitrust probe into Apple in recent months, according to The Wall Street Journal. Specifically, the report claims additional litigators have been assigned to the case and new requests have been submitted for documents and consultations with companies connected to the investigation.

iOS App Store General Feature JoeBlue
As part of the probe, the report claims the Justice Department is looking into Apple's App Store business practices and whether iOS favors Apple's own apps and services over those provided by third-party developers and other companies.

Apple declined to comment on the report, but the company has previously denied that it operates anticompetitively and said it welcomes competition on the App Store.

The investigation began in 2019, when the Justice Department inquired about Apple's policies surrounding the App Store and met with developers to learn more about the App Store's review process. If the Justice Department chooses to move forward with a complaint, then Apple would face an antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. government.

Apple has been accused of or investigated for anticompetitive practices in several other countries over the past few years, including the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, and more, with many of the complaints related to the App Store. As a result, Apple has been forced to make changes to the App Store in some countries, such as allowing developers to offer alternative payment systems in South Korea.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

ios 19 messages app

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Thursday July 17, 2025 8:40 pm PDT by
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June. In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

Wednesday July 16, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. We went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great. Top Tier Ultra Thin iPhone 17 Air - The iPhone 17 Air is 2025's most exciting iPhone rumor, because it's the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Wednesday July 16, 2025 11:31 am PDT by
Apple's long-rumored foldable iPhone will likely have a starting price between $1,800 and $2,000 in the U.S., analysts at investment banking firm UBS said this week. If so, the foldable iPhone would cost more than a MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,599. With a starting price of at least $1,800, the foldable iPhone would be the most expensive iPhone model ever released, topping the Pro Max at...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...

Top Rated Comments

turbineseaplane Avatar
32 months ago
Love it ...

Apple needs to be brought to heel a bit

We'll all be better off for it -- even Apple (eventually)
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
32 months ago
Time to remake the 1984 commercial but with Apple the one talking on the the big screen.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DelayedGratificationGene Avatar
32 months ago
I mean this has been going on for a decade at least. Stop grandstanding and wasting taxpayer money already. Billions of people trust the security and privacy ecosystem of Apple. Keep your ignorant hands off and stop helping hackers and thieves etc!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
32 months ago
Apple declined to comment on the report, but the company has previously denied that it operates anticompetitively and said it welcomes competition on the App Store.
Welcomes competition ?

It must've been another company that has been fighting tooth and nail to prevent alternative 3rd party payment options or prevent reader app developers from including an in-app link to their own website for users to set up and/or manage payments for their accounts.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jaw04005 Avatar
32 months ago

This is an investigation about anticompetitive practices that Apple might be identified with. The App Store is only part of it, you have Apple Pay, Apple Card also competing with traditional banking industry and credit card companies.
Well, I for one would definitely want my tax dollars going to protect the traditional banking industry and credit card companies.

No one needs more protection than those two industries.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
32 months ago

The U.S. Department of Justice has escalated its antitrust probe into Apple in recent months, according to The Wall Street Journal ('https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-escalates-apple-probe-looks-to-involve-antitrust-chief-2fa86ddf'). Specifically, the report claims additional litigators have been assigned to the case and new requests have been submitted for documents and consultations with companies connected to the investigation.
This is an investigation about anticompetitive practices that Apple might be identified with.

9to5 had this additional information.

The probe is reaching the point to where the team is looking for ways to involve Jonathan Kanter, the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division. As previous reports have said, Kanter represented opponents of Apple, including Spotify, Tile, Match, and Basecamp, prior to joining the DOJ.

Apple would easily be able to challenge this anticompetitive investigation probe based on obvious bias of Jonathan Kanter that is involved.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)