More from US v. Apple: everything you need to know
I reread this massive Wired piece this morning on the train, a propos of, you know, things. It’s an incredible tale of antitrust warfare, and it’s wild how much of what the DOJ said and did about Microsoft rhymes with today’s lawsuit against Apple.
I’d bet that Tim Cook saying “buy your mom an iPhone” will become an iconic legal phrase the way “cut off Netscape’s air supply” did 25 years ago.
The new complaint “alleges that Apple has engaged in many of the same tactics that Microsoft used,” Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said, referencing the DOJ’s landmark antitrust case at the turn of the century.
Apple has “smothered an entire industry” by shifting from “revolutionizing the smartphone market to stalling its advancement,” according to Lisa Monaco.
Garland described how Apple “inserts itself into the process” of transactions through its digital wallets, when consumers may “prefer to share that information solely with their bank.”
“That is just one way in which Apple is willing to make the iPhone less secure and less private, in order to maintain its monopoly power,” Garland said.
The AG says it’s not just that the green texts between Android and iPhone devices are annoying, there’s also “limited functionality.”
“Videos are pixelated and grainy, and users cannot edit messages or see typing indicators,” Garland said.
“Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market, not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating federal antitrust law,” Garland said.
He also referenced the so-called Apple tax that the company charges for in-app purchases.
Watch the press conference below as US Attorney General Merrick Garland lays out the case against Apple, and read more details right here.
Debates over green bubbles, iMessage, and RCS came to a head in this moment from the 2022 Code Conference when LiQuan Hunt asked Tim Cook about messaging across platforms. Leading to today, when Hunt’s question and Cook’s response came up on page 39 of the DOJ’s antitrust complaint against Apple.
In 2022, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was asked whether Apple would fix iPhone-to-Android messaging. ‘It’s tough,’ the questioner implored Mr. Cook, ‘not to make it personal but I can’t send my mom certain videos.’ Mr. Cook’s response? ‘Buy your mom an iPhone.’
Correction: it’s on page 39, right 92.
The Department of Justice’s website doesn’t say which company this antitrust announcement livestreaming will be about, but there are signs that point to Apple.
We’ll have all the updates for you right here as soon as they’re available. (Update: And as of 10:30AM ET, now they are — the stream is still scheduled for 11AM.)
The New York Times reported in January that the DOJ was nearing the end of an investigation into Apple’s locked-down ecosystem. Now, Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, says the agency is preparing for the next step:
The Justice Department is poised to sue Apple Inc. as soon as Thursday, accusing the world’s second most valuable tech company of violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features of its iPhone.
