Calling out

US DoJ challenges Apple's smartphone market business practices

In what is turning into a busy month for Apple's legal team, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has joined the European Commission in targeting the tech giant. Along with 16 other state attorneys general, the DoJ has filed a civil lawsuit saying that Apple's exclusionary business practices make it harder for consumers to switch smartphones, and undermine innovation for apps, products and services, enabling it to maintain a monopoly in the smartphone market. In its complaint, the DoJ states that Apple's monopoly, in turn, allows it to "extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others".