Earlier this month, the New York Occasions reported that the US Division of Justice was within the late levels of making ready a serious antitrust lawsuit towards Apple. Now Bloomberg has reported on the standing of the DOJ antitrust effort, reporting that the lawsuit may very well be filed as early as March.

From Leah Nylen at Bloomberg right this moment:

Antitrust enforcers allege that Apple has imposed software program and {hardware} limitations on its iPhones and iPads to impede rivals from successfully competing, echoing considerations raised by Spotify Expertise SA, bluetooth tracker Life360 Inc.’s Tile and messaging service Beeper. The Justice Division and Apple legal professionals have met 3 times to debate a possible swimsuit, mentioned the individuals, talking anonymously to debate an ongoing probe.

The Justice Division hopes to file a swimsuit within the first quarter of the yr, although that timing may slip, the individuals mentioned, because the DOJ’s most senior antitrust officers haven’t but signed off on the grievance. The company has been probing the corporate since 2019, however selected to prioritize its twin circumstances towards Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

Apple has defended itself towards antitrust claims by insisting that it doesn’t maintain a monopoly in any market. Nonetheless, the huge sweeping investigation is predicted to embody new areas comparable to Apple not permitting cloud gaming companies, how AirTags combine with iPhone, and iMessage exclusivity to Apple gadgets.

The information comes sooner or later after the Supreme Courtroom declined to listen to the Apple/Epic case, forcing Apple to make main adjustments for App Retailer coverage.