DOJ Complaint Against Apple Faces High Bar, Says ITIF
WASHINGTON—Commenting on the U.S. Justice Department’s much anticipated antitrust lawsuit against Apple, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from Joe Coniglio, director of ITIF’s Schumpeter Project on Competition Policy:
The government’s attack on Apple is a clear example of antitrust overreach.
The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that Apple’s business model is littered with anticompetitive abuses. But Apple’s carefully integrated ecosystem has created a seamless, secure, high-quality user experience that has clearly benefited American consumers.
The theory that Apple has monopoly power in mobile has already been debunked by courts in similar contexts. Alphabet’s Android competes vigorously with Apple’s iOS.
Apple will also almost certainly be able to provide strong procompetitive justifications for its policies and product design decisions. Given applicable legal standards, that should prove sufficient to rebut the DOJ’s claims.
Coming just weeks after the European Union’s baseless and punitive $2 billion fine against Apple, the Biden administration’s lawsuit only further intensifies the persecution of America’s leading technology companies here at home.
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The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute focusing on the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. Recognized by its peers in the think tank community as the global center of excellence for science and technology policy, ITIF’s mission is to formulate and promote policy solutions that accelerate innovation and boost productivity to spur growth, opportunity, and progress.
