A new report claims that the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into Apple is in "advanced stages" and a wide-ranging complaint will be filed soon, but how or if that will happen is unclear. Apple has been under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for four years, and a report Friday afternoon said there may or may not be an outcome soon on whether the Justice Department pursues legal action.
The New York Times reported on Friday that the case could be filed as soon as the first half of this year, citing three people familiar with the matter. However, this statement of "imminent filing of a case" has been common in similar reports over the past five years or so.
Two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said senior Justice Department leaders are reviewing investigative materials. The sources also said that Justice Department officials met with Apple officials as recently as December as part of the investigation.
The December meeting may be the culmination of the Beeper saga, in which Apple chose to restrict third-party access to iMessage servers. Ultimately, Beeper took one last action, providing bridge access where possible, but chose to take no further action.
Friday's report even offered some evasion about its imminent filing. "Apple has not made a final decision on whether to file a lawsuit or what it will be, and has not held a final meeting with the Department of Justice to make its case to the government before filing a lawsuit," the report said.
The report also said that whether the Department of Justice decides to take action will be determined after seeing how Apple responds to EU regulation and authorization. So far, Apple has complied with USB-C universal charger regulations, and the deadline to allow third-party app stores is set to arrive in 2024.
It’s unclear why this report differs from previous assertions that decisive action by the Justice Department was imminent.
In early 2023, there was news that the Department of Justice was drafting an antitrust complaint against Apple. The complaint reportedly involves anti-competitive behavior on the App Store. In August 2022, the complaint was said to focus on tracker manufacturer Tile. Although there was news at the time that legal action by the Department of Justice was about to begin, there appears to be no progress so far.
Back in 2021, the Department of Justice is examining how Apple treats Roblox developers. The complaint is similar to Epic's in that Apple charges commissions on in-app purchases and cannot open a third-party App Store. It is said that this complaint, which was filed more than two years ago, is now nearing completion.
In June 2020, members of the Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general spoke with several companies that believe Apple has engaged in anticompetitive behavior. It's unclear exactly where the matter is headed or whether it will be consolidated into another complaint.
The origin of the entire incident was in 2019. In October 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee asked Spotify to provide information about Apple's alleged anti-competitive behavior, especially how these behaviors relate to Spotify's business. Spotify has accused Apple of "giving itself an unfair advantage at every turn."