A federal judge dismissed Apple on Monday from his appeal against the United States Ministry of Justice. This decision opens the way to a trial of the manufacturer of the iPhone for abuse of a dominant position in the United States.
The salvo dates back to March 2024. The US government assigned the Cupertino group for monopolistic practices intended to maintain and strengthen the position of the iPhone on the smartphones market.
Apple called in August and requested the cancellation of the entire procedure. He argued that the Ministry of Justice had not provided the proof that the group was in a monopoly situation or that it sought to establish its domination.
The Californian company also argued that on a global scale, the telephones equipped with the Android operating system were significantly more numerous than the iPhone.
>> Read also: The EU inflicts heavy fines on Apple and Meta for unfair competition
A trial, not for several years
But judge Julien Xavier Neals, federal judge of Newark, on the contrary, considered that the American government had provided enough elements to characterize a monopoly.
His decision dismisses the main obstacle to the holding of a trial, the date of which has not yet been set, but which should not take place for several years.
A federal coalition
Prosecutors of 19 states, as well as that of the Washington Federal Capital, joined this procedure.
The accusation criticizes the technological group in particular for slowing down the development of applications and services usable on several supports, beyond the Apple ecosystem.
The government says it is based on internal documents demonstrating that the company has been knowingly acted to rule out competition and innovations likely to weaken its economic model.
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Apple still denies
“We believe that this action is not justified either by law or by the facts, and we will continue to oppose it firmly in court,” said Apple spokesperson to AFP.
After decades of lull, the American authorities have launched, in recent years, a dam shooting against the tech giants to question what they consider as distortions of competition.
>> Read also: Brussels accuses Apple of abuse of a dominant position in favor of its Apple Pay
Declared in monopoly on online research in August 2024, Google is waiting to know its sentence in the coming weeks, as well as in another file on advertising.
As for Meta, he is prosecuted by the American Competition Authority, the FTC, for monopoly in the field of social networks. His seven -week trial ended at the end of May and the Menlo Park (California) group is expecting a verdict in the coming months.
ats/lbl
