Although the Justice Department would like to think everyone to think that its antitrust lawsuit against Apple is a “blockbuster,” but the case doesn’t seem to be the slam dunk victory they hope, writes The Washington Post‘s editorial board.
Along with attorneys general from 16 years, the Justice Department claims that Apple has monopolized the smartphone market through exclusionary and predatory practices. The department has to first prove that Apple even has a monopoly. The company’s market share at around 70% is nothing compared to the 90% share that Windows held when the Justice Department file against it in the 1990s.
Next, there’s a question of what Apple is doing with the monopoly. The department claims that Apple exerts too much control through the use of its apps and features; however, it might be too difficult to prove that Apple does this in order to suppress competition.
The Post‘s Editorial Board believes that the courts don’t typically fault companies for these decisions and, in order to create the “transformation that many competition advocates seek, the country would need different laws.”
