Of all the categories submitted by the Ministry of Justice v. Apple, perhaps the most divisive is the one concerning the antitrust case. Apple has warned that if the Justice Department succeeds in its goal, the products of - especially the iPhone - will be less safe for users. At the same time, the DOJ claims that the privacy features Apple is pushing are largely prefabricated.
See also: Epic Games: 'Apple in violation of 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 the preferences of the consumer to justify its competitive behaviour." At the press conference announcing the lawsuit, the Assistant District 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 focuses heavily on privacy through its strategy. In Epic's lawsuit against Apple, the judge finds that user privacy and Security devices are acceptable reasons behind some of the strict (and economically profitable) policies of the app store.
In press conferences, Apple representatives have expressed dissatisfaction with the DOJ's support that the company's privacy and security features are pretextual 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 users Android you have not encryption.
Apple has previously said that the Devices of will begin supporting RCS, a more secure messaging protocol that will make communications with Android devices encrypted, later this year.
For now, it's simply too early to tell how the privacy of iPhone users will be affected by Apple's antitrust case - we still don't even know what the DOJ wants in damages if it wins, leaving only the possibility of profit in the first place.
See also: Apple prevents Epic from returning to iOS
Apple is accused of imposition of fees 30% on transactions made through its App Store application. This means that any company that wants to sell the products or its services through Apple's platform, it must pay this fee. In addition, Apple does not allow developers 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, making it difficult for new players to enter the market and increasing competition. These rules include the requirement for Apple's approval before applications are made available on the App Store.
Source: theverge
