The US accused Apple of having a monopoly
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company had violated antitrust laws by using practices intended to keep customers connected to iPhones.
The lawsuit accused Apple of preventing other companies from offering apps that compete with products like its digital wallet. making it easier for iPhones to connect to other Apple products than to those of competitors; and it undermines messaging across smartphone operating systems. (Read the filing here.)
Apple, which is worth nearly $2.75 trillion, said these practices made its iPhones more secure than other smartphones. But app developers and rival device makers said Apple had used its power to crush the competition.
The Justice Department has the right to seek structural changes to Apple’s business, including dissolution, an agency official said, if the decision is in the department’s favor.
It was unclear what impact the suit — which is likely to drag on for years — would have for consumers.
Context: Every modern tech giant has faced a major federal antitrust challenge, and Apple has effectively fought similar charges in the past. Here are some of the other regulatory actions the company is facing.
Germany hit by ‘strike madness’
Strikes this year in Germany have brought railways and airports to a standstill, forced doctors out of hospitals and forced bankers to walk out for days.
By some measures, there were more strikes in Germany in the first three months of 2024 than in the last 25 years, so many that one conservative parliament leader described them as “strike madness”. Such labor protests are common in many European countries, but Germany has long prided itself on non-disruptive collective bargaining.
Germany’s economy, long a European powerhouse, is now the slowest growing of the 20 countries that use the euro. Last year, the country suffered the highest inflation in 50 years. At the same time, Germany faces an increasingly severe labor shortage and an aging population, with officials estimating the country will need seven million more workers by 2035.
The result is a unique opportunity for workers at a vulnerable time for the national economy.
The former Spanish football official could be arrested
Luis Rubiales, the disgraced former head of Spain’s soccer federation who was forced out after kissing a female player against her will, could soon be arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigation into corruption and money laundering charges.
Investigators were examining contracts related to the federation’s sale of lucrative rights to a prominent soccer tournament, the Spanish Super Cup, to Saudi Arabia. Seven people were arrested following raids by the Spanish Civil Guard this week, but Rubiales, who was in the Dominican Republic and expected to return to Spain in April, was not arrested.
Record: Once one of soccer’s most prominent figures, Rubiales’ career collapsed after planting an unwanted kiss on the mouth of Spain midfielder Jennifer Hermozo after the country won the Women’s World Cup last year. Hermoso later filed a sexual assault complaint and a judge recommended that Rubiales be tried. He is also under investigation for a number of other allegations.
MORE TOP NEWS
You may have heard online that Catherine, Princess of Wales, is dead. Or a body double. Or a clone.
Such rumors have multiplied while Catherine has been on the low side since Christmas as she recovers from abdominal surgery, according to Kensington Palace. He joins a number of other celebrities that dozens of online sleuths are promoting lies about.
Principles of conversation
sport News
International break: What are your favorite Premier League club’s plans?
Khadija Shaw: The Manchester City striker, nicknamed Bunny, talks about her game in her own words.
Australian Grand Prix: Breaking the circuit at Albert Park.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Bone-crunching action in a fantasy game
Hideaki Itsuno has spent his three-decade career adapting the ultra-violent DNA of video game combat into increasingly larger, more elaborate environments.
Now Itsuno is set to release Dragon’s Dogma II, his most ambitious game yet. In it, he brings the thrilling hand-to-hand combat that made his name in games like Street Fighter Alpha and the Devil May Cry series into a massive open world with fantasy tropes. The game arrives today.
That’s all for this week. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday. — Dan
You can reach Dan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
