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Unveiling 4 Internal Apple Correspondences That Shaped the DOJ’s Legal Standpoint In its antitrust lawsuit, the Department of Justice contends that internal Apple emails unveil the deliberate strategy of locking in users, compelling them to increase spending.
Accusing Apple of exploiting the dominance of the iPhone to stifle competition unlawfully, the US Department of Justice lodged a lawsuit on Thursday.
Apple has refuted allegations of unlawful conduct, with Fred Sainz, a spokesperson, asserting that the lawsuit “jeopardizes our identity and the core principles distinguishing Apple products in fiercely competitive markets.” However, pivotal segments of the lawsuit leverage the words of Apple’s own executives against the corporation. The DOJ’s lawsuit draws from internal emails to contend that Apple consciously imposes constraints on users and developers in unjust manners. Below, we dissect four of these messages, shedding light on how executives apparently deliberated on upholding stringent control over Apple’s ecosystem.
“Not an Entertaining Spectacle” The DOJ’s filing commences with a 2010 email exchange between Apple’s co-founder and then CEO, Steve Jobs, and an undisclosed “top Apple executive.” It delineates the executive’s email to Jobs concerning a new advertisement for Amazon’s Kindle e-reader. The ad portrays a woman initially using an iPhone to purchase and peruse books via Amazon’s iOS Kindle app but later opting for an Android phone to read those books.
The lawsuit portrays this ad as a cause for concern within Apple. It states that the executive corresponded with Jobs, expressing that one “inescapable message” conveyed by the ad is the ease of transitioning from iPhone to Android, which was “not an entertaining spectacle” from Apple’s perspective. While the suit doesn’t extensively quote Jobs’ response, it suggests that he emphasized Apple’s intention to “compel” developers to utilize its payment system to secure both developers and users within its ecosystem.
The DOJ alleges that this incident exemplifies an early instance of Apple resorting to a playbook it has consistently employed when confronted with competition: deliberately ensnaring users and developers within Apple’s ecosystem. The lawsuit asserts that this practice has rendered switching to Apple alternatives more financially burdensome than it’s deemed worthy, thereby discouraging competition.
“iPhone Families” The DOJ’s antitrust allegations heavily hinge on how Apple limits the functionality of its iMessage messaging service. It cites emails, including communications with the current CEO, Tim Cook, as evidence that Apple was aware of the detrimental effects on users and the impediment it posed to transitioning away from an iPhone.
One such message from 2013, attributed to Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, allegedly cautioned against enabling Apple Messages to operate across platforms, as it “would simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones.”
In March 2016, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, purportedly Phil Schiller, involved CEO Tim Cook in a similar discourse, forwarding an email asserting that “transferring iMessage to Android will inflict more harm than benefit on us.”
Frustration among users regarding Apple’s control over iMessage and confinement of messages from individuals outside Apple’s ecosystem within green bubbles has been mounting. Last November, Apple indicated its readiness to make concessions by announcing plans to integrate compatibility with the RCS messaging standard into iMessage. Additionally, Apple has long contended that the security features of iMessage act as a barrier to interoperability, further exacerbating tensions with the DOJ.
“Prevent … Switching” Although the Apple Watch didn’t attain the same blockbuster status as the iPhone, the DOJ’s lawsuit alleges that the company utilized the device to exert influence over its smartphone clientele. In 2019, an executive’s email, as per the suit, suggests that Apple’s vice president of product marketing for Apple Watch believed that the device “may help prevent iPhone customers from switching.”
The DOJ asserts that unspecified surveys have corroborated similar findings, indicating that the attachment of these devices to their iPhones dissuades users from transitioning to Android.
“We firmly believe that this lawsuit is based on erroneous facts and misinterpretation of the law, and we will vehemently defend ourselves,” Apple stated in an emailed response on Thursday. Nonetheless, one hurdle it will confront is reconciling the statements made by its own executives.
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