Four states join DOJ antitrust lawsuit against Apple

The Justice Department said four more U.S. states on Tuesday joined the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Apple Inc, accusing the iPhone maker of monopolizing smartphone markets, the department said in a statement.

The Justice Department said the four states were Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington. The original lawsuit was filed in March, and at that time, 15 states and the District of Columbia joined the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Apple uses its market power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses and sellers. The civil lawsuit accuses Apple of an illegal smartphone monopoly, maintained by imposing contractual restrictions on developers and withholding critical access.

The Department of Justice has previously found that Apple charges as much as $1,599 for the iPhone and makes more profit than any other competitor. Officials also said Apple imposes hidden fees on a variety of business partners – from software developers to credit card companies and even competitors such as Alphabet’s and Google – in ways that ultimately raise prices for consumers. Apple said it plans to take the matter to a federal judge in New Jersey

dismiss the case on the grounds that it “faces stiff competition from established rivals.”

An Apple spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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