Report: DoJ Mulls Apple Anti-Trust Case Prompted by Tile Complaints

29 AUGUST 2022 - The US Department of Justice is apparently weighing a new anti-trust case against Apple. The Mac Observer cites a Politico report. That says DoJ lawyers are circling a case prompted by complaints from device tracker Tile. According to Politico:

Tile has been public about its complaints, testifying in congressional hearings that Apple has made it more difficult for the company’s devices to access needed location data, and restricted access to key hardware components in its phones.

And?

“Sound and fury,” says one analyst, “signifying nothing.” Actually that was Shakespeare, but you get the idea. Apple 3.0 ran part of a response to the Politico piece from Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani. According to the analyst, the case the DoJ is building was initially focused on Apple’s App Store. He sees a shift to AirTag and location tracking as good news for Apple, “as any changes to the Apple AirTags would be relatively immaterial to the bottom line.” Focus shifting back to the App Store could be a big deal. That would have Apple’s App Store payment requirements at its center. Such a shift would be significant, since it could affect or eliminate the commissions Apple collects on subscriptions, sales, and in-app purchases. Even there though, the risks seems more “public relations” than “operations.” Quoting Daryanani’s note:

We think Apple is well positioned to win any potential lawsuit related to the App Store, but announcement of the case is certainly a headline risk. We continue to view Apple as the least at risk among big tech.

Daryanani has an “Outperform” rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $185.