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Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter {beacon}
Technology
Technology
The Big Story
Apple hit with antitrust lawsuit from DOJ, 16 states
The Justice Department sued Apple on Thursday, alleging the company illegally maintained a monopoly over smartphones in a wide-ranging lawsuit.
© Getty Images
The DOJ was joined by 16 bipartisan state attorneys general in the lawsuit filed in New Jersey, which alleges that Apple limits competition and hurts consumers, developers and small businesses through its operation of the company’s App Store, limiting the functions of third-party smart watches and hurting the quality of cross-platform messaging.
“For years, Apple responded to competitive threats by imposing a series of ‘Whac-A-Mole’ contractual rules and restrictions that have allowed Apple to extract higher prices from consumers, impose higher fees on developers and creators, and to throttle competitive alternatives from rival technologies,” Jonathan Kanter, DOJ assistant attorney general of the antitrust division, said in a statement.
“Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Apple accountable and ensure it cannot deploy the same, unlawful playbook in other vital markets,” Kanter added.
Apple defended itself against the allegations and said the lawsuit “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets.”
“If successful, [this lawsuit] would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it,” Apple said in a statement.
The complaint alleges that Apple built a “dominant iPhone platform and ecosystem” and “rather than respond to competitive threats by offering lower smartphone prices to consumers or better monetization for developers” Apple imposed a “series of shapeshifting rules and restrictions” in its App Store, it alleged.
“It has deployed this playbook across many technologies, products, and services, including super apps, text messaging, smartwatches, and digital wallets, among many others,” the complaint states.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
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Essential Reads
How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:
5 ways prosecutors say Apple created a smartphone monopoly
Apple is facing a wide-ranging antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice and 16 state and district attorneys general focused on its dominance in the smartphone market. The lawsuit alleged Apple limited competition and harmed both consumers and developers. through control of its App Store and how its devices and services operate with third parties. “Apple has consolidated its monopoly power not by making …
Full Story DMVs across the country experience service outage
Multiple states across the country reported that services were disrupted at their department of motor vehicles (DMV) offices Thursday. According to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), an organization that provides software to DMV offices nationwide, there was an issue with the network that connects the country’s various agencies. The outage was “due to a loss in cloud connectivity,” the organization …
Full Story White House hails first UN AI resolution as ‘landmark achievement’
The White House applauded the newly approved United Nations resolution on artificial intelligence (AI) safety Thursday, calling it a “historic step” to ensuring “trustworthy” advancements in technology. The U.N. General Assembly approved the resolution, proposed by the United States and co-sponsored by 123 other countries, senior administration officials told reporters Thursday. The proposal includes a “comprehensive vision” …
Full Story The Refresh
News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
Reddit shares soar in stock market debut
Reddit shares began trading 38 percent above their initial public offer price, as the social message board site debuted on the stock market Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Apple, Google, Meta to face EU probes
The European Union (EU) plans to investigate Apple, Google's parent company Alphabet and Meta over their compliance with the bloc's new Digital Markets Act, Reuters reported.
What Others are Reading
Two key stories on The Hill right now:
US judge cites Dr. Seuss in dismissing Blagojevich suit: ‘Just Go. Go. GO!
A federal judge shut down former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) latest attempt to regain ballot eligibility by quoting Dr. Seuss, underlining … Read more
Biden campaign taunts Trump on low fundraising numbers: ‘He’d fire himself’
The Biden campaign took a victory lap Wednesday over its major fundraising and cash advantage compared to the Trump campaign. Election filings made … Read more
What Others are Reading
Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill:
- The cultural crusaderism of today’s FCC
- A smart device seal of trust brings consumer choice to the 21st century
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