Apple is without a doubt one of the biggest companies in the world. Arguably, it possesses the title of the largest tech company ever assembled due to its innovation, creativity, and sheer takeover of the international community. For close to half of a century, Apple has shocked consumers with high-tech computers, to phones, to tablets, and now to something as technologically-savvy as a virtual reality headset. However, perhaps Apple has been getting too much leverage in the tech community.
In a recent revelation, the US Justice Department hit the company with a massive antitrust case, claiming that Apple had an unfair monopoly with its iPhone. The Justice Department also says that the barrier of entry into the phone industry has been deemed obsolete by Apple.
The US government does its best to prevent monopolies in order to promote fair competition and help consumers and small businesses alike. If Apple has a phone monopoly as the Justice Department claims, it will be forced to make heavy reforms to remove this so-called unfair level of competition. The department claims that Apple’s movement of blocking other companies to use its tech usage such as Apple Pay and Apple Store violates its antitrust laws.
In response to this, Apple shareholders panicked, as highlighted by a large slip in daily stock value and the resulting loss of millions of dollars in a single day. It will be interesting to see whether the suit comes to fruition.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/21/doj-sues-apple-over-iphone-monopoly.html
Image Credits: https://www.pymnts.com/antitrust/2024/report-dojs-apple-antitrust-suit-could-land-thursday/
