Apple could face DOJ probe as part of antitrust review, report says
This comes as Apple kicks off WWDC.
Apple may be the subject of a DOJ investigation.
While Tim Cook and other Apple brass were at WWDC 2019 showing off new iOS 13 features and what's coming to the Apple Watch , the Department of Justice was apparently cooking up other plans for the iPhone maker.
The DOJ reportedly has obtained jurisdiction to potentially investigate Apple over antitrust concerns, according to a Reuters report on Monday. This news came just hours after it was reported that the Federal Trade Commission secured rights to investigate Facebook. And this past Friday, the DOJ reportedly began preparing for an antitrust investigation on Google for its search practices and other business activities.
Exclusive: Justice Department has been given jurisdiction for potential probe of Apple as part of broad tech review by antitrust enforcers $AAPL pic.twitter.com/7XqoZ2XU94
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) June 3, 2019
A spokesperson for the DOJ said it's the agency's policy to not confirm, deny, or otherwise comment on the existence or nonexistence of investigations.
These moves by the Justice Department and FTC comes as Apple and other Silicon Valley giants face renewed antitrust scrutiny in the United States. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic 2020 presidential candidate, has made it a key part of her platform to break up the big tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Amazon. Earlier this month, Chris Hughes, a Facebook co-founder, also called for the breakup of the company he helped create.
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Originally published June 3 at 11:03 a.m. PT.
Update, 11:15 a.m. PT: Adds background info. Update, 12:01 p.m. PT: Adds DOJ comment.
