US DoJ Speeds Up Apple Antitrust Investigation – Report

Apple executives may be casting nervous glances towards Washington DC, after a development was reported about an antitrust investigation.

The Department of Justice has reportedly accelerated its antitrust investigation into Apple, according to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

It comes after both the DoJ and the FTC begin their own investigations back in 2019 into Apple, as well as other tech firms including Amazon, Facebook and Google, over alleged antitrust issues.

Antitrust investigations

It came after US authorities were accused of previously giving huge American tech companies a relatively free hand, even as in Europe firms such as Apple, Facebook and Google were the target of wide-ranging regulatory probes and massive fines.

Thus the US began its investigations four years ago, and in February 2020 app developers were reportedly questioned by the DoJ as part of its antitrust investigation of Apple, and other big name technology giants.

Then in August 2020, a very senior DoJ official confirmed that his department was moving “full-tilt” on its antitrust investigation.

Fast forward to October 2021 it was reported that the investigation by Department of Justice of tech giants had witnessed an acceleration of the Apple probe, reportedly increasing likelihood of lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

Indeed it was speculated that Apple was next on the US hit list after Google was hit with a couple of antitrust lawsuits, with the first case slated to go to trial in September 2023.

Then in December 2020 Meta’s Facebook was hit with two separate antitrust lawsuits – one from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and the second from a coalition of attorneys general from 48 states and territories.

Apple probe

Now four years into the antitrust investigations, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Wednesday reported that the US DoJ has again accelerated its antitrust investigation into Apple.

The company’s policies for third-party apps on its devices and whether it unfairly favours its own products on its mobile operating system are two areas of focus, according to the Journal.

The investigation has allegedly gained more litigators assigned to it and new document requests and consultations with companies related to the matter have taken place in recent months, according to the WSJ report.

It comes after Politico reported in August 2022 that the DoJ was in the “early stages” of drafting a potential complaint against Apple.

Conflict of interest?

Meanwhile according to CNBC, it is still unclear what role DoJ antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter will play in the investigation or any potential enforcement action.

Kanter was initially not involved in the Apple matter because of his past representation of clients who have accused Apple of being anti-competitive, but sources reportedly told the WSJ he would likely end up working on any action against the company.

Kanter was cleared to work on Google matters after the department evaluated similar concerns over his work in private practice.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

The DoJ also reportedly declined to comment.