As Apple Inc. absorbs the regulatory body blow of a record $1.95 billion antitrust fine from the European Union on Monday, its legal team is bracing for yet another epochal action.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Justice is in the final stages of a yearslong investigation into Apple The probe \u2014 which reportedly focuses on everything from the seamless integration between the iPhone and Apple Watch, to the company\u2019s digital-payments system and its use of green text bubbles to differentiate Android text messages from iMessage communications\u00a0\u2014 is nothing short of an all-out assault on Apple\u2019s $2.8 trillion \u201cwalled garden\u201d to its core.<\/p>\n Read more: Department of Justice edges toward antitrust case vs. Apple: report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The immediacy of the Justice Department lawsuit on the heels of the EU fine<\/a> underscores an escalating crackdown on Big Tech by government agencies, after numerous attempts to legislate the tech industry have floundered. Justice officials aren\u2019t just preparing a case against Apple \u2014 they are charging ahead on blockbuster lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.\u2019s GOOG, Read more: <\/strong>Google spent billions to build an illegal monopoly, Justice Department says as trial gets under way<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n At the same time, the Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general in September sued Amazon.com Inc. Read more: <\/strong>Amazon sued by FTC, which alleges the company is \u2018exploiting its monopoly power\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n To complicate matters even further, tech companies must comply with the EU\u2019s Digital Markets Act, which makes large players in ad tech accountable for user data they collect and use in the European Union. The DMA goes into effect March 6.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision from the EU today is just the latest example of their blatant targeting of American tech firms,\u201d James Czerniawski, tech-policy expert at\u00a0Americans for Prosperity, said in an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest risk that comes with the increased scrutiny by U.S. antitrust enforcers is that it\u2019s increasingly bleeding over into other sectors of the American economy,\u201d Czerniawski added. \u201cWhether it is the collapse of the JetBlue The EU\u2019s massive fine against Apple, for abusing its position in the market for the distribution of music-streaming apps, is its first against the iPhone maker and one of its largest ever levied on a tech company. The news sent Apple shares down 3%.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope and expect that the EU commission will assess the recently proposed update to Apple\u2019s terms for the App Store in light of this fine, and make it clear without a doubt that what has been proposed is not enough to comply with the Digital Markets Act,\u201d said Jeronimo Folgueira, chief executive of music-streaming service Deezer.<\/p>\n Music-streaming rival Spotify Technology Apple countered that Spotify would benefit greatly from the decision. \u201cToday, Spotify has a 56% share of Europe\u2019s music-streaming market \u2014 more than double their closest competitor\u2019s \u2014 and pays Apple nothing for the services that have helped make them one of the most recognizable brands in the world,\u201d Apple said in a statement. It added that a \u201clarge part\u201d of Spotify\u2019s success is because of Apple\u2019s App Store.<\/p>\n Apple has largely avoided antitrust actions, and was successful in one recent notable suit. When videogame developer Epic Games Inc. attempted to change Apple\u2019s App Store policies, it lost 9 of 10 counts in a 2021 decision. Its only win was a judgment to suspend a rule about being able to email app customers, and that ruling is currently being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n AAPL,
\n
\n which could lead to a lawsuit as soon as this month. <\/p>\n
\n GOOGL,
\n
\n
\n Google advertising business that will go to trial in early September. (The advertising case is the second major recent antitrust action targeting Google: A trial last fall challenged Google\u2019s dominant role as the default search engine on millions of devices.)<\/p>\n
\n AMZN,
\n
\n alleging the company is a \u201cmonopolist that uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n JBLU,
\n
\n [and] Spirit Airlines
\n SAVE,
\n
\n merger, the abandonment of the Nvidia
\n NVDA,
\n
\n and Arm
\n ARM,
\n
\n merger, or the recently challenged Albertsons
\n ACI,
\n
\n [and] Kroger
\n KR,
\n
\n merger, these developments threaten the country\u2019s long-term economic prospects and are deeply concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n SPOT,
\n
\n which filed a complaint against Apple in 2019 leading to the investigation, said <\/a>the fine \u201cmarks an important moment in the fight for a more open internet for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n