Apple was accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of leveraging the iPhone’s market dominance to cut off competitors. This accusation sparked a multiyear legal battle involving hundreds of attorneys and put Apple’s “walled garden” business model in jeopardy. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday.
In the event that the DOJ prevails, it may pursue a number of business modifications for Apple, and American authorities did not completely rule out the prospect of Apple being subjected to “structural remedies” or even being split apart.
Apple could have additional weapons to fend off future regulation if a court decides that its estimated 64% market dominance in smartphones in the United States does not constitute a monopoly or that its actions were lawful.
But before any of that occurs, there will probably be years of legal wrangling during which Apple will have to produce internal documents for the government, defend its business in public, divert its executives with legal meetings, and possibly deal with negative press that could damage its reputation.
Source (CNBC)
