Apple Sued by U.S. Department of Justice, Says Lawsuit is 'Wrong'

[turbineseaplane]

Nonsense, I hope this utterly fails. Punishment for being too good, ridiculous.

Read some history and you'll find several examples of precedent

 

[turbineseaplane]

if they have an issue get an android and stop complaining

Can we please stop with this tired and pointless retort in defense of Apple?

 

[carrrrrlos]

Anyone else hear Tim Cook’s voice when they read Apple statements like this one?

 

[FangRock]

You can choose to use android. You want the apple ecosystem with the android ideology and iOS shouldn’t be weakened because you want your cake and eat it too

You totally miss the point. I don't want an android anything thanks. I've made my choice and now I'm stuck in a monopoly - the Mac has it spot on - and apple make that still don't they? And the world is still turning. Don't worry, it will be fine and you will have more choice. Everyone wins, apart from Apple, but again, don't worry, they will cope.

 

[1129846]

It'll be interesting to see how you have a monopoly on the smartphone market with 40% market share.

The law if you look into does not say monopoly. It is more about power and influnce and abusing your power in one area to control another. Apple is part of a duopoly. It has the power and control to be hit by it.
You can be at 1% and be hit by the laws and anti trust. Market share is not part of it. Difference is you tend to be bigger when the anti trust laws hit.
if anything companies are allowed to get to big and powerful before they get looked at for abuse and squeezing out others.

 

[mcnallym]

Why is MR only posting the response and not what it is actually about?

“Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone,” the Justice Department said in a press release. “Apple exercises its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others.”

“Apple reinforces the moat around its smartphone monopoly not by making its products more attractive to users, but by discouraging innovation that threatens Apple’s smartphone monopoly.”

This part made me laugh though. Very American teenager specific:

For example, Apple allows iPhone customers to send high-quality photos and videos seamlessly to one another, but multimedia texts to Android phones are slower and grainy. The company late last year relented and agreed to improve the quality standard it uses to interact with Android phones via text message – but it still maintains those messages in green bubbles, creating a kind of class divide, critics argue.

Or users just install cross platform app’s that available for free and has no such thing.

surely that makes the apple service LESS competitive and drives consumers to use the 3rd party messaging apps.

unless you have absolutetly nobody in your life that doesn’t have an Android phone then people soon stop using iMessage. Even the EU is not pursuing iMessage.

 

[truthsteve]

Not my problem if you can not move.

your problem is that you're failing to understand it's not a proper analogy.

I do research and select the phone that fits my needs before buying so I don't have to move to the other platform later.

I can't possibly research and select a country before being born into it, therefore I'm stuck with what I was given.

Get it? your analogy completely breaks down. it's nothing like what we're talking about.

 

[Macalway]

Yes, all the US manufactures that are hurting. Remind me who these are?

 

[dannyyankou]

And when you do, and you repurchase all of those apps, those developers will be double dipping.

Well that's not Apple's fault. If Google were smart, they would work with the Android phone makers and offer a google play gift card to cover the cost of switching. Similar to carrier switching deals.

 

[burgman]

simple really

if apple wants to release apps on their own platform that compete with the market at large those apps shouldnt be given special advantages in the ios platform that only apple can control

Have you ever tried to install a GM car part on a Ford? No technical reasons why many car parts can’t be universal, most designs are heavily regulated by governments. Why single out tech firms?

 

[btrach144]

Did they? Their revenue has increased every single year

Microsoft (MSFT) Revenue 2016-2025

Current and historical revenue information for Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) stock, including a chart and comparison to related stocks.

stockanalysis.com

Edit: Except in 2016. But that was related to shutting down their phone business. And 2009. No explanation needed with the recession.

Depends on how you measure stagnation.

You picked a method that is favorable to your view.

I look at stock price. Which from 2000 to 2013 was flat. No growth.

 

[1129846]

your problem is that you're failing to understand it's not a proper analogy.

I would have chosen the country that fits my needs before being born into it so I don't have to move

just like

I would have chosen the mobile phone before buying all the apps so I don't have to move to the other phone

but

I cannot choose to be born into a country but I can choose a mobile phone to use. get it? your analogy completely breaks down.

Their are ways to move countries. People do it all the time. you can as well. You are just listing logistical issues so same answer as before so again if you want to go with the just get an Android then just move countries. It is the exact same argument.

If you want at the city or even state scale same answer.

 

[uecker87]

I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

I think Apple should be able to run their App Store how they want, but I also believe Apple shouldn’t have any ability to prevent me from installing applications from outside the App Store.

^ This. 100% this. They should be allowed to do whatever they want with their App Store. People can CHOOSE to only install apps from there, but we shouldn't be held back from installing whatever we want on a personal device we own.

I'm surprised the US Gov had the backbone to do anything at all. It seems like we normally just look out for big corporations over the little guy.

 

[vertsix]

I want to make my own consumer choices. I don't want the government interfering in this case. The Apple walled garden is a selling point for me - I prefer security and I loath surveillance capitalism. I just stopped using my FitBit because Google was going to require me to have an account with them to save data. (How is that not a monopolistic practice?). I've been using an AW instead and very happy with it.

Apple being successful is not the same thing as being monopolistic. It is not Apple's responsibility to promote other companies' products and services.

You conveniently evaded the question. I'll ask it again, what's wrong with being able to do what you want with your purchased Apple hardware?

 

[scorpio vega]

You totally miss the point. I don't want an android anything thanks. I've made my choice and now I'm stuck in a monopoly - the Mac has it spot on - and apple make that still don't they? And the world is still turning. Don't worry, it will be fine and you will have more choice. Everyone wins, apart from Apple, but again, don't worry, they will cope.

I win nothing by bringing iMessage to android for example.

I benefit from nothing from this.

iPhone is not Mac.

 

[bsolar]

So, these are the claims alleged in the lawsuit against Apple

• A. First Claim for Relief: Monopolization of the Performance Smartphone Market in the United States in Violation of Sherman Act § 2
• B. Second Claim for Relief, in the Alternative: Attempted Monopolization of the Performance Smartphone Market in the United States in Violation of Sherman Act § 2
• C. Third Claim for Relief: Monopolization of the Smartphone Market in the United States in Violation of Sherman Act § 2
• D. Fourth Claim for Relief, in the Alternative: Attempted Monopolization of the Smartphone Market in the United States in Violation of Sherman Act § 2
• E. Fifth Claim for Relief: Violation of the New Jersey Antitrust Act (Monopoly Maintenance)
• F. Sixth Claim for Relief: Violations of Wisconsin State Law

The biggest hurdle will be definitely to prove the alleged monopolization or attempt thereof.

 

[avkills]

VLC is very popular and it did not die from failing to adhere to guidelines

That is because Apple screwed the pooch with their own app offerings.

 

[xmarcuswildx]

No wonder why they decided to finally open RCS come fall. Guess they saw this one coming and using it as part of their defense.

 

[bodhisattva]

Got something to back up this claim? I mean, you or someone must have surveyed every single developer to arrive at that conclusion, otherwise you're just pulling it out of your rear.

Can include myself and over 200 developers I work with. I guess that quantifies as many? Maybe? This thread should be named the pedantic flaming hot responses solidly like granite to everything everyone says (intentionally hyperbolic)

 

[vipergts2207]

Is this a learn photoshop for 5 year olds? Yikes.

How much effort do you think I’m going to put into a meme for a forum post lmao?

 

[burgman]

As an iPhone user, I have no choice - it's the App Store or nothing - the smartphone thing is a red herring. I already have an iPhone, iPad - and I have no choice - hence monopoly. And Apple takes advantage of that.

That’s you being cheap in making the decision to stay instead taking a loss to dump your Apple gear. Then convincing yourself you have no choice and blame Apple.

 

[Razorpit]

Governments manipulating stock prices.

I'd love to see all the decision makers at the EU and DOJ show their and their families holdings in Apple and its competing companies.

How anyone could down vote your comment is beyond me. Anyone who thinks governments do not manipulate stock prices for their own personal advancement only needs to spend a few minutes of research time to see the valuation of politicians before and after "serving the people."

Amazes me how a "blue collared" politician of 50 years, with 0 hours in the private sector, becomes a multimillionaire and is considered "the good guy". Yet another guy built a private business empire that employs hundreds of thousands of blue collared workers, is "the enemy of democracy."

We're heading down a long dark road with this way of thinking...

 

[uecker87]

The DOJ and the EU are DETERMINED to make your iPhone a malware-ridden piece of crap; as enjoyable to use as a desktop computer from 1998.

This is such a horrible take.

If you want a secure device, keep installing apps the way you already do. The App Store wouldn't go away. But for those of us smart enough to vet external sources for apps outside of the App Store, we should be allowed to do so on a device we own.

 

[chrono1081]

Well this is the stupidest lawsuit I've seen in a long time.

 

[jon3543]

If the government wins, expect Apple to allow ads everywhere.