Tech giant Apple found itself embroiled in legal battles alongside other industry competitors, including Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms, and Amazon.com, as regulatory bodies review alleged anti-competitive practices against smaller competitors and price manipulations.
“Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate the antitrust laws. If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The company will face probe in Europe about complying with the Digital Markets Act. Shares of the company dropped 4.1 per cent, erasing about $113 billion in market value and taking their year-to-date loss back to 11 per cent.
The company, once the world’s most valuable firm at more than $3 trillion, has underperformed both the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 in 2024.
The United States suit accuses Apple of blocking competitors from accessing hardware and software features on its popular devices while the possible probe in Europe will focus on the firm’s new fees, terms and conditions for app store developers.
Apple fired back at the US lawsuit by calling it wrong on the facts and the law. Apple said the action would set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.
