GoKawiilBack in 2024, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of a “smartphone monopoly.”
Apple has voiced its opposition to the case many times over the last two years. Now, a Bloomberg report says the DOJ and Apple are in talks to settle the lawsuit.
Bloomberg reports that Apple has made “multiple offers” so far this year in an attempt to settle the case:
Apple has made multiple offers this year to the Justice Department to bring the case to a close, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions were private. Settlement discussions between the DOJ and companies can end without an agreement being reached.
The report cautions that, while these talks are active, there is no guarantee an agreement between Apple and the DOJ will be reached.
The DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple focuses on five major aspects of the iPhone experience: super apps, cloud streaming games, third-party messaging apps, third-party smartwatches, and third-party digital wallets.
Apple has made genuine changes over the last year to address some of the DOJ’s concerns. That includes things like supporting RCS in the Messages app, a new Mini Apps Partner Program in the App Store, and broadening access to the iPhone’s NFC chip.
Whether those changes are enough to appease the DOJ remains to be seen. There is, of course, also a political factor here, as Bloomberg outlines:
The Justice Department under Trump has sought to settle myriad of antitrust cases filed by the previous administration. Stanley Woodward, the No. 3 Justice Department official currently overseeing the agency’s antitrust work, has pushed for settlements, viewing them as a way to save taxpayer dollars and bring more immediate relief to consumers than litigation that can last for years.
Apple and the DOJ recently filed a joint status report with an update on the case. Additionally, Apple won a discovery fight earlier this week over access to federal agency documents in the DOJ case.
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