Apple, the US antitrust crisis… The app store is the core

The US Department of Justice is preparing for an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, Polytico reported on Monday.

Reportedly, the Ministry of Justice is currently working on collecting data, and it is possible to file a lawsuit as early as the end of this year.

But the Ministry of Justice did not decide whether to file a complaint, Polytico said. It is also not clear whether it will lead to a real lawsuit, the media said.

Since 2019, the Ministry of Justice has been investigating whether Apple has abused the market dominant status to contain app developers and competing hardware manufacturers.

As the investigation proceeds, the possibility of litigation by the Ministry of Justice is increasing, Polytico said.

Currently, the US Parliament, the Ministry of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are showing a lot of interest in checking the competition of huge IT companies. Apple survey is also part of this work.

The Ministry of Justice's investigation into Apple focuses on the app store business, including in-app payment. However, there is a possibility of expanding the scope of investigation, Polytico said.

The FTC is preparing for an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, another huge IT company. The key issue is whether Amazon has performed market exclusive acts in the commerce and cloud business.

The US Department of Justice has now sued Google for abuse of exclusive status in Google and advertising markets. The Ministry of Justice is also preparing to lawsuits against the monopoly of Google advertising business.

If the Ministry of Justice files Apple, it is the second legal workshop against a huge IT company.

The Ministry of Justice refused to comment on the report, and Apple did not answer, Polytico said.