US authorities accused Apple of creating a smartphone monopoly

The US Department of Justice has accused Apple of creating a monopoly in the smartphone market. This was reported by The Verge.

The antitrust lawsuit was brought with the participation of attorneys general of 16 states and districts. The document states that Apple, taking advantage of its dominant position in the smartphone market, inflated prices for consumers and developers. She also allegedly selectively introduced restrictions, hiding important functions in her devices.

“Apple is using its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses and others,” the report said. The company has been successful in stifling competitive alternatives for years, according to Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter.

According to journalists from The Verge, Apple was the second American corporation after Google that the Ministry of Justice became interested in. The authors confirmed that both consumers and developers had repeatedly complained about the IT giant. Thus, the latter opposed the high commission for selling applications in the App Store and the often opaque conditions of moderation.

The material also says that Europe is ahead of the United States in terms of containing megacorporations. There, in March, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force, due to which, in particular, Apple had to agree to launch alternative stores with applications on the iPhone.

In early March, the European Commission imposed a fine of 1.8 billion euros on Apple for abusing its dominant position in the music services market. This is one of the largest fines paid to the EU by a technology company.