Apple facing major antitrust lawsuit from US government

Apple is facing another antitrust lawsuit – this time from the US government.

Earlier today, the US Department of Justice announced it is suing Apple for monopolising the smartphone market. The lawsuit has been filed by the Department of Justice, 15 other state and district attorneys general, and Washington DC, in the District Court of New Jersey.

In the lawsuit, the Department of Justice alleges Apple engages in an “anticompetitive course of conduct”, using tactics such as making it difficult for consumers to switch to other smartphone platforms, maintaining a closed-off system which is incompatible with apps and peripherals from other companies, and blocking third-party digital wallets. Of most relevant to video games, perhaps, is the claim Apple has blocked the development of cloud-streaming game apps.