Apple, one of the world's richest companies, is now under fire from the U.S. government. The Department of Justice and 16 states filed a lawsuit against the Silicon Valley giant on Thursday, accusing the company of abusing its power as a monopoly to edge out rivals and ensure customers keep using its products.
Apple is worth nearly $3 trillion, making it one of the highest valued companies in the world. And its iPhone is one of the most popular phones on earth, dominating the global market, according toEpic Games beat Google but lost to Apple in monopoly lawsuits. What does it all mean? The Justice Department says that because Apple imposes contract restrictions on developers, it means new innovation is kept within its ecosystem. The government says this allows Apple to take more money from consumers, developers, content creators, publishers, small businesses and more.
The government also says that Apple has thrown around its power to suppress innovation in streaming services for video games, non-Apple smartwatches, and third-party party digital wallets that let users tap-to-pay.