Ghost of Microsoft stalks Apple as DOJ takes its shot
The ghost of old Microsoft hung in the air this past week as the Justice Department took aim at Apple, accusing the tech giant of an improper monopoly with its iPhone. Chief Executive Tim Cook faces the likelihood that the next several years will be consumed with fighting antitrust lawyers intent on dismantling the pillars of the business empire he helped build after the death of Steve Jobs. Cook, who has overseen extraordinary profit and revenue growth since becoming Apple CEO in 2011, can hardly afford the timing of the latest fight.
It comes amid a slowdown in iPhone growth and investor jitters that he is behind in the current wave of excitement around advanced artificial intelligence. It is a situation reminiscent of almost 25 years ago, when then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates faced his own antitrust battle with the Justice Department. On Thursday, the government invoked Microsoft’s name several times in a lawsuit challenging Apple’s iPhone business model.
The lawyers accused the Silicon Valley giant of excluding rivals from its digital ecosystem—and are seeking changes to the way it operates. It is the latest legal effort by the Biden administration to curb the power of Big Tech. For its part, Apple has long defended itself against monopoly claims, saying it faces intense competition from the likes of Samsung and Google’s Android and enforces rules that limit the iPhone ecosystem to protect customers’ privacy and security.
Apple responded this past week that it will vigorously defend against the government’s claims. If history is any guide, Apple faces years of tedious litigation—including hearings, document discoveries and the sort of in-the-weeds legal maneuvering that mostly doesn’t involve senior leadership. But the
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