Results: US sues Apple in antitrust lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a landmark lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing it of monopolizing the smartphone market. Do you own an iPhone?

The civil suit, joined by attorneys general for 15 states and the District of Columbia, accuses Apple of restricting its smartphone operating system in a way that drives up costs for consumers and prevents developers from successfully releasing products on other smartphone systems. Among the suit's allegations: Apple prevents the successful deployment of what the DOJ calls "super apps" that would make it easier for consumers to switch between smartphone platforms, Apple blocks the development of cloud-streaming apps that would allow for high-quality video-game play without having to pay for extra hardware, and Apple inhibits the development of cross-platform messaging apps so that customers must keep buying iPhones. Based on these complaints, do you think Apple is violating the anti trust laws?

In a statement, the Chamber of Progress, a trade group funded by tech companies like Apple, criticized the suit. "Consumers who buy iPhones like Apple's highly curated mobile ecosystem," said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. "That's not an antitrust violation, that's why millions of people buy iPhones for security and ease of use. If DOJ forced Apple to open up its software and hardware, it would make iPhones more like Androids, depriving consumers of choice between two very different types of device." Do you think the DOJ will be successful in their lawsuit?