Apple: US Government files complaint against iPhone monopoly

The decision is as historic as it is worrying for Apple: the American Department of Justice is filing a complaint against the firm for illegal monopoly.

The information had been anticipated for several days: the American Government announced that it would take Apple to court and file a complaint against the firm. He is notably accused of an illegal monopoly concerning its most famous product: the iPhone.

The US Department of Justice (commonly known as "DOJ") has joined forces with the US Justice Department. 16 state and district attorneys general to file a complaint. The latter, recorded in a document of just over 80 pages, is a state of affairs # 39;a monopoly situation concerning the iPhone. In the document in question, it is notably indicated: : "this affair aims to free the marketé of the smartphone from the anti-competitive conduct of Apple and to restore competition to lower the prices of smartphones for consumers, to reduce the costs of developers and preserve innovation for the future."

The DOJ is not attacking Apple for no reason. In its press release, the Department indicates several problematic points initiated by Apple and which would dissuade consumers from considering an Android smartphone. Among these points, we find in particular:

• The blocking of video game streaming applications, making this type of service much more expensive for businesses and users.
• Do not encourage à maintain a messaging service of the same quality within the iPhone and Android smartphones, in particular by prohibiting the use of SMS and MMS on the iPhone, thus making iMessage much more interesting.
• The limitation of certain connected watches and their functions in the iOS environment and making it more difficult to switch to iOS an Android smartphone for Apple Watch users.
• Apple's prevention of allowing developers to offer competing digital wallets' functionality iPhone Tap-to-Pay.

The DOJ's complaint therefore seems to follow the same goals as the European Union's DMA which struck down Apple released a little earlier this year. Since March 6 (and even earlier for certain points), the firm has been making crucial changes to its operations. the iPhone to comply with the new European rules. This has notably forced Apple to adapt offer alternative blinds à the App Store and the possibility of to choose your preferred browser when you first turn on your iPhone.

In a press release; official sent&eac; &agrav; In several media reports, Apple defended itself against this complaint. Fred Sainz, official spokesperson for the company, declared ; that this process "led to the identity' and the principles that distinguish Apple products in competitive markets. If successful, this complaint would threaten our ability to respond. &agrav; create the kind of technology that people expect from Apple (…) We believe this lawsuit is wrong. both on the facts and on the law, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against it."

This is not the first time that the DOJ has investigated and filed a complaint for a company's monopoly since it already had operated on against the giants Google and Microsoft a few years ago. However, we will have to wait a little to see if this legal action bears fruit, and on the consequences of the latter on Apple's products and operations. ; the future.