U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into Apple's App Store is "in full swing"

The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store rules continues, with scrutiny of the digital storefront's dominance apparently in full swing and a possible lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

The Justice Department has been investigating the conduct of Apple's App Store since 2020, scrutinizing what developers say is anticompetitive behavior. Years later, the investigation is still ongoing, and the Justice Department may be facing a time crunch.

Jonathan Kanter, who has served as the head of the Antitrust Division of the Ministry of Justice since November 2021, claimed to the Financial Times that the App Store policy investigation is now "full force". Although Kanter has previously said he hopes to bring lawsuits against major U.S. companies such as Apple, the Justice Department has so far not made clear comments on the outcome of the investigation.

For the Justice Department, there is some risk that the investigation will go sour because of the huge time pressure ahead of the presidential election. With the White House likely to change in January 2025, the Justice Department would only have a year at most if it intended to take action against Apple.

In February 2023, the Justice Department drafted a potential antitrust complaint against Apple, and despite attempts at drafting, information on the progress of the investigation was largely stalled until it was released in January.

In December, the DoJ reportedly met with Beeper's CEO amid the company's battle over iMessage access, possibly in an attempt to fold the incident into a broader antitrust investigation.

While the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust investigation into the App Store may eventually lead to some form of case against Apple, it is lagging behind other regulators around the world in doing so.

EU AppStore regulations in the form of the Digital Markets Act have put pressure on Apple to allow third-party app markets, among other changes. In November, Apple prepared to fight the DMA regulations, including content on third-party app stores.

Even so, Apple acknowledged in its November financial filing that it expects to be forced to allow third-party storefronts in Europe starting in 2024, a change the company believes is inevitable.