DOJ

The paid agreement that Google has with Apple to be the default search engine on the iPhone and other Apple devices violates antitrust law, a federal judge ruled today (via Bloomberg). Google has long paid Apple billions of dollars a year to be the default Safari search engine, and this relationship has been under scrutiny as Google battles antitrust allegations made by the United States...

Apple today filed a motion to dismiss its ongoing lawsuit with the United States Department of Justice, a standard step in the litigation process. In its motion to dismiss, Apple argues that the government's complaint has not demonstrated anticompetitive conduct, anticompetitive effect that harms consumers, or that Apple is a monopoly power in the U.S. smartphone market. The government needs to...

The United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission today levied a lawsuit against Adobe [PDF] for imposing a hidden termination fee on subscribers who want to cancel their Adobe plans. Adobe is accused of forcing subscribers to "navigate a complex and challenging cancellation process designed to deter them from cancelling subscriptions they no longer wanted." Adobe...

Apple today filed a pre-motion letter seeking to dismiss the antitrust case that the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) levied against Apple back in March. In the pre-motion letter, Apple says that the government's lawsuit is flawed in multiple ways, and has not successfully alleged that Apple is a monopoly power in the relevant market, proven anticompetitive conduct, or demonstrated...

The United States Justice Department is in the "late stages" of an antitrust investigation into Apple that could soon lead to an antitrust lawsuit, reports The New York Times. The DoJ could be ready to file a "sweeping" antitrust case in the first half of 2024, with the agency considering how Apple's control over hardware and software locks consumers into the Apple ecosystem and makes it...

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren this week penned a letter [PDF] to antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, requesting that they investigate "Big Tech's expansion into the automotive industry." Warren specifically called out Google, Apple, and Amazon, saying that the companies are setting themselves up to be a "one-stop shop for automakers," for data...

The United States Justice Department is in the early stages of crafting an antitrust complaint against Apple, reports Politico. A source that spoke to the site described the lawsuit as "potential," indicating that the DOJ's plans are not yet finalized. Prosecutors within the DOJ are said to be "assembling the pieces" for a lawsuit that could be filed by the end of the year, but the decision...

The United States Justice Department is investigating Apple for antitrust issues, and Roblox is an area of interest for prosecutors attempting to put together a case, reports The Information. Investigators are looking for situations where Apple is unevenly enforcing rules for app developers, and Roblox is an area of interest because of the way the app works. Roblox is an online gaming...

The United States Department of Justice is accelerating its antitrust probe into Apple and there is increased likelihood that Apple will face an antitrust lawsuit, reports The Information. Citing internal sources with knowledge of the investigation, The Information says there has been a "flurry" of activity as the DOJ has continued to question Apple, its customers, and its competitors about...

Last month, the United States Justice Department announced a series of criminal charges against Chinese smartphone maker Huawei for stealing trade secrets, bank fraud, wire fraud, and obstructing justice. Today, The Information has shed light on Huawei's tactics of stealing trade secrets, some of which were aimed at Apple. According to today's report, a Huawei engineer in charge of the...

The United States Justice Department today announced a series of criminal charges against Chinese smartphone maker Huawei for stealing trade secrets, bank fraud, wire fraud, and obstructing justice. In the first of two indictments unsealed this afternoon, the Justice Department accuses Huawei, Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, and two affiliates of bank and wire fraud. Huawei...

The United States Justice Department today filed a lawsuit to stop a planned merger between AT&T and Time Warner, reports Bloomberg. The DOJ believes such a merger would result in higher bills and fewer options for consumers."This merger would greatly harm American consumers. It would mean higher monthly television bills and fewer of the new, emerging innovative options that consumers are...

Apple has been leveraging its power within the music industry in an attempt to push music labels to stop licensing freemium tiers offered by Spotify and other streaming music services, according to The Verge. The company has also reportedly offered to pay YouTube's music licensing fee to Universal Music Group if the label stops allowing its songs on the website, a popular destination for music...