In a major blow to the second most valuable company in the world, the US government under President Biden has initiated a litigation against Apple for allegedly breaching anti-trust laws of the country.
The American anti-Trust laws or the Sherman Antitrust prohibits conspiracies that unreasonably restrain trade. Under this law, agreements among competitors to fix prices or wages, rig bids, or allocate customers, workers, or markets are considered criminal violations.
Quelling Competition
The trillion dollar company has been accused of quelling competition in the country and in the bargain monopolizing the market. The company generated a revenue of USD 383.29 billion in 2022.
The company has been accused of truncating access of advanced technology to smaller players in the market, there by diminishing the ability of other competitors in the segment from flourishing in the business.
Apple products, particularly, the iPhones dominate the markets. While the global share of iPhones stands at 23 per cent, the American story is much more telling. In the United States, the Apple iPhones holds a massive 62 per cent of the smartphone market, followed by Samsung and Lenovo, a couple of non-US companies, underscoring the pattern of dominance instated by the California-based tech-giant.
Big Tech Under Radar
Big tech companies have been under the radar of government around the globe, after nearly two-decade of unfettered, seamless expansion. Recently Apple moved by another jolt, when the EU handed a mammoth USD 1.95 billion fine, once again for breaching anti-trust laws.
The company has been accused of misusing its extensive reach and agency in other avenues as well. Apple and its App Store has been subject to scrutiny in myriad occasions for imposing undue conditions on app developers on its platform. Apart from its devices, its has been accused of exploiting its services, may it be iOS or the Apple Music app, which resulted in the aforementioned penalty.
Apple responded to this move by the Biden administration by calling this measure unfair and defended itself and its practices.
The markets appears to have been impacted by the news, as Apple's shares caved a consequential 4.09 per cent, with its shares trading at USD 171.37 per piece (March 21).
