Justice Department Steps Up Apple Antitrust Probe

A federal investigation targeting Apple is reportedly escalating amid a wave of corporate antitrust actions.

While the U.S. Justice Department probe into the iPhone maker is a few years old, it has in recent months seen an escalation, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wednesday (Feb. 15), citing people with knowledge of the matter.

That means new litigators have been assigned to the case, as well as new consultations with companies involved and requests for documents.

In addition to Apple’s rules governing third-party software on its devices, the DOJ is also looking at whether the company’s iOS mobile operating system favors its own products over those made by outside developers, the sources said.

PYMNTS has reached out to Apple for comment but has yet to receive a reply. DOJ declined to comment.

The WSJ report says it’s unclear how soon a lawsuit could be filed, though the sources say it could happen by this spring. The sources added that the government could also choose not to take legal action.

The DOJ began investigating Apple three years ago, inspired by claims that the company used its market power to hinder app developers and other tech companies.

Apple’s app store practices have been the target of regulators around the world. As PYMNTS reported on Jan. 2, the company has opposed government regulation of app distribution for a long time, arguing that third-party apps delivered from outside its App Store could risk users’ privacy.

News of the potential suit comes a little less than a month since the DOJ sued Google, saying it had illegally taken control of the online ad market and calling for the company to be broken up.

“Having inserted itself into all aspects of the digital advertising marketplace, Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to its dominance over digital advertising technologies,” the department said in the suit.

The suit, filed by the DOJ and eight U.S. states, asks a judge to order the divestiture of “at minimum,” the Google Ad Manager suite, including both Google’s publisher ad server, DFP, and the company’s ad exchange, AdX.

Google responded to the lawsuit by saying the DOJ was “doubling down on a flawed” argument that would harm small businesses and lead to increased advertising fees.

Recent weeks have also seen reports that the Federal Trade Commission was considering a lawsuit against Amazon.