OKLAHOMA CITY (March 21, 2024) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond approved Oklahoma to join a multi-state coalition and the U.S. Department of Justice today in filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple for monopolizing smartphone markets.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that Apple illegally maintains a monopoly over smartphones by selectively imposing contractual restrictions on developers. It states that Apple undermines apps, products and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability and lower costs for consumers and developers.
“This case is about freeing smartphone markets from Apple’s anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct and restoring competition to lower smartphone prices for consumers, reducing fees for developers and preserving innovation for the future,” the complaint states.
The complaint outlines several forms of anticompetitive conduct Apple has allegedly engaged in, including blocking innovative super apps, suppressing mobile cloud streaming services, excluding cross-platform messaging apps, diminishing the functionality of non-Apple smartwatches and limiting third party digital wallets.
In fiscal year 2023, Apple generated annual net revenues of $383 billion and a net income of $97 billion. Apple’s net income exceeds any other company in the Fortune 500 and the gross domestic products of more than 100 countries.
Read the filing at https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1344546/dl?inline