Of all the charges the Justice Department against Apple, perhaps the most divisive is the one involving antitrust. Apple has warned that if the Justice Department succeeds, products — particularly the iPhone — will be less secure for users. At the same time, the Justice Department claims that Apple’s much-touted privacy features are pre-made.
See also: Epic Games: "Apple is violating the court order"
The complaint in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple says the company “covers itself with a veil of privacy, security, and consumer to justify its anticompetitive behavior.” At the press conference announcing the lawsuit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kanter said Apple’s choices have actually made its system “less private and less secure.”
A particularly aggressive blow to a company that has a strong focus on privacy throughout its strategy. In Epic's lawsuit against Apple, the judge rules that user privacy and device security are acceptable reasons behind some of the App Store 's strict (and financially profitable) policies .
In press conferences, Apple representatives have expressed dissatisfaction with the DOJ's support that the company's privacy and security features are a pretext and have stated that the antitrust lawsuit will ultimately harm users.
See also: Epic Games will launch its own app store on iPhone with a 12% sales commission
The complaint highlights that, unlike iMessages, SMS communications between iPhone users and Android are not encrypted.
Apple has previously said that devices will begin supporting RCS, a more secure messaging protocol that will make communications with Android devices encrypted, later this year.
For now, it is simply too early to say how iPhone users' privacy will be affected by Apple's antitrust case – we still don't even know what the Ministry of Justice wants as compensation if it wins, leaving only the possibility of profit in the top spot.
See also: Apple blocks Epic from returning to iOS
Apple is accused of imposing a 30% fee on transactions made through its App Store. This means that any company that wants to sell products or services through Apple's platform must pay this fee. In addition, Apple does not allow developers to offer other payment methods within their apps, which could circumvent the 30% fee. This is seen by many as an anti-competitive practice. Finally, Apple is accused of imposing strict and restrictive rules on the App Store, which make it difficult for new players to enter the market and increase competition. These rules include requiring Apple to approve apps before they are available on the App Store.
Source: theverge
