Apple representatives met with the U.S. Justice Department last week in a last ditch effort to persuade the agency not to file an antitrust suit against the company, according to Bloomberg.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report states that Apple and its lawyers met with Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, who will have the final say on whether to file a suit.
Since 2019, the Justice Department has been looking into Apple’s App Store business practices and whether iOS favors Apple’s own apps and services over those provided by third-party developers and other companies.
The DOJ began by inquiring about Apple’s App Store policies, and reportedly met with developers to learn more about the App Store’s review process.
The department reportedly escalated its probe in early 2023 by assigning additional litigators to the case and requesting documents and consultations with companies connected to the investigation.
Apple has been accused of or investigated for anticompetitive practices in several other countries over the past few years, with many of the complaints related to the App Store. Most recently, Apple announced major changes to the way the App Store and apps operate in the EU in order to comply with the bloc’s inbound Digital Markets Act before March 7, and the DOJ has reportedly been monitoring these developments.
The DOJ is expected to make its first legal move in the coming weeks, likely by the end of March, according to Bloomberg‘s sources, potentially leaving Apple facing an antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. government.
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