Apple has reportedly been under investigation by the Department of Justice for about four years now, and to date, nothing has happened. A report on Friday afternoon claims that a filing may happen soon — or it may not.
The report, by the New York Times on Friday, citing three people familiar with the matter, say that a case may be filed as soon as the first half of this year. This “case filing soon” refrain has been common across similar reports for over five years, however.
Two of the unnamed sources say that senior leaders in the Justice Department are reviewing the investigation materials. The same sources say that agency officials have met with Apple officials as recently as December as part of the investigative process.
The December meeting was likely about the tail-end of the Beeper saga, where Apple chose to limit a third party’s access to iMessage servers. Ultimately, Beeper took one final action to provide as much bridged access as it could, but chose to take no further action.
The report on Friday even gives its claim of an imminent filing some escape room.
“No final decision has been made about whether a lawsuit should be filed or what it should include, and Apple has not had a final meeting with the Justice Department in which it can make its case to the government before a lawsuit is filed,” the report says.
The report also says that if the Department of Justice decides to take action will be determined after it sees how Apple responds to European Union regulation and mandates. So far, it has already complied with the USB-C universal charger mandate, and a deadline for allowing third-party App Stores is approaching in 2024.
Four and a half years of imminent anti-trust action