Government Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple Undermines Consumer Choices

The U.S. Justice Department along with 16 states and the District of Columbia, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on March 21, arguing the company violated antitrust laws with practices favoring iPhones and deterring consumers from switching to a competing company and device. Jessica Melugin, director of CEI’s Center for Technology and Innovation, warned that such Big Government crack-downs will prove the real detriment to consumer options.

 “These kind of attacks on Apple’s business model have failed in court before, as seen in game-maker Epic’s case recently. This effort should meet the same fate. Apple offers a more closed-tech ecosystem that comes with privacy, security, and ease of use benefits for users. If consumers don’t share those priorities, they can purchase, for example, an Android phone instead. But forcing Apple to look like Android removes a valuable option from the marketplace.”

Related analysis:

Is Apple a Bad Antitrust Apple?

Court Rules Apple App Store Rules Do Not Violate Antitrust Laws

Justice Department ignores consumers, boosts Bing in Google antitrust trial