Feds are thinking about an antitrust case against Apple

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The biggest tech antitrust cases so far have focused on Facebook and others. The Department of Justice is in the early stages of drafting an antitrust case against Apple, accusing it of abusing its market power to stifle smaller tech companies.

It would be the first such case against Apple by a US federal agency, although European antitrust regulators have raised similar cases over the company's App Store fees. The App Store challenge from Epic Games ended in a frustrating stalemate for antitrust advocates, as the company fended off a number of civil cases from rivals.

The Justice Department may still decide the case isn't worth pursuing, even though they haven't committed to any action against Apple. It could be years before the public sees the case. The decision to draft the case gives Apple a lot to be nervous about.

Apple didn't reply to the request.

There are a number of federal cases taking on the power of tech companies. It will take a court ruling to determine if the FTC can block the merger of Meta and Within.

The Department of Justice filed antitrust charges against the company in 2020. According to the Wall Street Journal, the search giant offered to spin off its ad-auction businesses into a separate company in order to settle the case.