Apple Antitrust

The United States Justice Department is investigating Apple for antitrust issues, and Roblox is an area of interest for prosecutors attempting to put together a case, reports The Information. Investigators are looking for situations where Apple is unevenly enforcing rules for app developers, and Roblox is an area of interest because of the way the app works. Roblox is an online gaming...

The United States Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has filed a lawsuit to block Nvidia from acquiring Arm in a deal worth $40 billion. According to the FTC, the deal would give Nvidia, one of the largest chip companies, control over computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop competing chips. The FTC believes an acquisition would stifle "innovative...

Apple and Amazon were today fined a total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) by Italy's antitrust authority for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products, reports Reuters. The fines are the culmination of an investigation that began last year over allegations that the two companies had been blocking the sale of Apple and Beats devices to...

Following a virtual hearing earlier today, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has denied Apple's request to delay the implementation of a permanent injunction that will require Apple to make significant App Store changes. As part of the judgement in the Apple v. Epic lawsuit, Judge Gonzalez Rogers is requiring Apple to allow developers to add in-app links to outside websites, paving the way for...

The United States Department of Justice is accelerating its antitrust probe into Apple and there is increased likelihood that Apple will face an antitrust lawsuit, reports The Information. Citing internal sources with knowledge of the investigation, The Information says there has been a "flurry" of activity as the DOJ has continued to question Apple, its customers, and its competitors about...

Apple has opted to appeal the ruling meted out by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit back in September, and today filed a notice of appeal with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The Cupertino company is planning to appeal the ruling that would require it to change its App Store rules to allow developers to add in-app links ...

Apple's in-app purchase requirements are anti-competitive, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has decided, reports Reuters. The ACM has ordered Apple to make changes to the rules that force developers to use in-app payment options. The Dutch antitrust watchdog has been investigating Apple since 2019, and while the probe started out as a look into whether Apple's App...

Google today lambasted European Union regulators for ignoring Apple and the rivalry between Apple and Android in the antitrust accusations that have been levied against Google, reports Reuters. Apple was brought up as part of Google's attempt to get a massive 4.34 billion euro ($5.1 billion) fine annulled. The European Commission first levied the fine against Google in 2018 because Google...

The United States Federal Trade Commission today reinforced its antitrust case against Facebook by providing more detail on how the company either crushed or bought out its rivals in an attempt to get rid of competition. The updated filing is longer than the original complaint and it offers additional evidence in favor of the FTC's argument that Facebook is a monopolist, plus it again asks...

New bipartisan antitrust legislation that targets Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store was today introduced by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, Marsha Blackburn, and Amy Klobuchar. The Open App Markets Act [PDF] is meant to create "fair, clear, and enforceable rules" that will protect competition and strengthen consumer protections. According to the three senators, Apple and Google...

Apple has filed a subpoena against the Coalition for App Fairness, requesting details on their communications as Apple fights a series of antitrust lawsuits. The Coalition for App Fairness comprises several companies who have been critical of Apple's App Store rules and fees, including Epic Games, Spotify, Deezer, Tile, and Match Group. Members of the Coalition for App Fairness earlier this...

Attorneys general representing 36 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. today levied an antitrust lawsuit [PDF] against Google to challenge Google Play Store fees, reports Politico. The lawsuit was filed in California federal court and is led by Utah, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, and Nebraska. The states are fighting against Google's plan to require all app...

In ongoing antitrust discussions about App Store competition, Apple has maintained that allowing users to install apps outside of the ‌App Store‌ would have dire privacy consequences, but European Union digital competition chief Margrethe Vestager said today that Apple must not use privacy excuses to limit competition. In an interview with Reuters, Vestager said that privacy and security are ...

Apple and Amazon are facing antitrust disciplinary proceedings in Spain for possible restrictive competition practices around the sale of Apple products, it has emerged. In a >press release, the country's National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) said it had initiated the proceedings against both companies for "possible anti-competition practices in the sectors of Internet sales...

Apple CEO Tim Cook personally called U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress to ask for a delay in considering new antitrust legislation proposals that seek to undo tech giants' market dominance, according to The New York Times. The antitrust bills were rushed, he said. They would crimp innovation. And they would hurt consumers by disrupting the services that power Apple’s...

Germany's Federal Cartel Office, the Bundeskartellamt, today initiated proceedings against Apple on the claims of anti-competitive behavior related to the App Store, its products, and other services, according to a press release. The proceeding against Apple announced today will determine whether the Cupertino tech giant holds a "paramount significance across markets" and whether, through...

Update: Bloomberg inaccurately interpreted the original comments and has since drastically changed the wording of its article. The original Bloomberg piece said that Apple would be prohibited from pre-installing its own apps on iPhones. The updated Bloomberg article has been rewritten to clarify that the antitrust legislation prohibits Apple from preventing users from removing Apple-created...

Sonos is today participating in an antitrust hearing on the smart home, where Sonos legal chief Eddie Lazarus had some commentary to share on the smart home market and the dominance of companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple. Headed up by Amy Klobuchar, the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights is today hosting a hearing on "Protecting Competition and Innovation ...

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced an investigation into the "duopoly" of Apple and Google on mobile ecosystems, just one day after a similar investigation was initiated in Japan. The CMA will be taking a closer look at Apple and Google's "effective duopoly" on the supply of operating systems, including iOS and Android, the App Store and Google Play Store, ...

U.S. House lawmakers today announced sweeping bipartisan antitrust legislation that could result in major changes to the tech industry, impacting companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. These measures are the culmination of a 16-month antitrust investigation into tech companies practices that kicked off in 2019, and which saw Apple CEO Tim Cook testify in an antitrust hearing...