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¿Qué es un huracán de sal? Todo lo que necesitas saber sobre el “peor hackeo de telecomunicaciones del mundo” [U.S.] fecha'

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En la era actual de todo lo digital, parece que casi no pasa un día sin noticias de una nueva amenaza a la ciberseguridad. Desafortunadamente, el hackeo en curso de Salt Typhoon es mucho más grande y más peligroso que un hackeo normal. Incluso el presidente del Comité de Inteligencia del Senado, el senador Mark R. Warner, describió el ataque del tornado de sal como un “ataque de tornado de sal”. “El peor hackeo de telecomunicaciones de la historia [U.S.] historia en gran medida”. Los piratas informáticos han podido acceder a los datos de muchos estadounidenses y monitorear las comunicaciones de objetivos políticos durante años.

Aquí encontrará todo lo que necesita saber sobre el truco del Salt Typhoon de 2024.

¿Qué es un huracán de sal?

Salt Typhoon es un grupo de hackers que se dice está patrocinado por el gobierno chino. Activo desde 2020El grupo ha llevado a cabo ataques contra objetivos en Estados Unidos y en todo el mundo.

El grupo se suele utilizar Ataques de amenaza persistente avanzada (APT).accediendo secretamente a las redes objetivo y permaneciendo allí sin ser detectados durante un largo período de tiempo. Estos métodos permiten a los atacantes recopilar amplia información sobre la organización objetivo.

Aunque comúnmente se le conoce como Salt Typhoon, el grupo también ha sido apodado Emperador Fantasma, el famoso pájaro, Estres Tierra, UNC2286. El nombre “Salt Typhoon” se lo dio Microsoft, que utiliza “Typhoon” para nombrar a todos los actores de amenazas de estado-nación de China.

¿Qué es el truco de Salt Typhoon Communications?

El gobierno de Estados Unidos reveló el miércoles que al menos ocho empresas de telecomunicaciones habían sido pirateadas por piratas informáticos de Salt Typhoon, después de que surgieran informes. A principios de este año De un ciberataque chino patrocinado por el estado contra proveedores de servicios de Internet.

Se cree que el estallido del tifón de sal de 2024 ya se produjo Continuar durante uno o dos años.y Todavía está activo hoy.donde supuestamente Salt Typhoon todavía puede acceder a varios sistemas de comunicaciones. Mientras los funcionarios trabajan para eliminar los piratas informáticos de los sistemas, la Agencia de Seguridad de Infraestructura y Ciberseguridad (CISA) del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de EE. UU. dijo que es “imposible” saber cuándo se eliminarán por completo a todos los piratas informáticos.

Según funcionarios estadounidenses, el hackeo del Salt Typhoon es una campaña de espionaje patrocinada por las autoridades chinas. El gobierno chino negó cualquier participación en los ciberataques.

Y añadió: “Estados Unidos debe detener sus ciberataques contra otros países y abstenerse de utilizar la ciberseguridad para desacreditar y calumniar a China”. Dijo un portavoz de la embajada china en Washington en un comunicado a Associated Press.

Velocidad de la luz triturable

¿Qué empresas de telecomunicaciones estadounidenses se vieron afectadas por el hackeo del Salt Typhoon?

No se ha publicado una lista completa de organizaciones afectadas por el hackeo de Salt Typhoon, pero sabemos que la campaña estuvo dirigida a empresas de telecomunicaciones de todo el mundo. Anne Neuberger, asesora adjunta de seguridad nacional de Estados Unidos para tecnologías cibernéticas y emergentes, dijo el miércoles que “docenas de países” se habían visto afectados, siendo Estados Unidos, Canadá, Australia y Nueva Zelanda objetivos confirmados.

En Estados Unidos, el tifón de sal supuestamente comprometió al menos a ocho empresas de telecomunicaciones. el Diario de Wall Street Informes Esta lista incluye:

  • Verizon

  • AT&T

  • T-Mobile

  • Técnicas de cavitación

¿Me afecta el hack de Salt Typhoon?

Los funcionarios estadounidenses declararon que, si bien creen que el ataque del Salt Typhoon no afectó a todos los estadounidenses, sí afectó a un “gran número” de personas, la mayoría de las cuales estaban ubicadas en el área metropolitana de Washington. Según se informa, los piratas informáticos pudieron acceder a los metadatos de estas personas, como registros de los números que se llamaban entre sí, pero no al contenido de esas comunicaciones.

Por sí solos, la mayoría de estos metadatos pirateados parecen ser de poco interés para Salt Typhoon. En cambio, se cree que los piratas informáticos utilizaron esta información para identificar las comunicaciones de individuos específicos. Salt Typhoon supuestamente buscaba propiedad intelectual corporativa, así como objetivos gubernamentales y políticos específicos, que supuestamente incluía Donald Trump, el senador J.D. Vancey Personas dentro de las campañas presidenciales de Trump y Kamala Harris.

Al identificarlos, los piratas informáticos se centraron en acceder a las comunicaciones de estos individuos, leer mensajes de texto y escuchar llamadas de voz. Hasta noviembre, se habían identificado y notificado aproximadamente 150 objetivos individuales, la mayoría dentro del área de Washington, D.C.

“Los actores robaron una cantidad significativa de registros, incluidos datos sobre dónde, cuándo y con quién se comunicaban las personas”. Un funcionario del FBI dijo… El Correo de Washington.

También se dice que los piratas del Salt Typhoon Accedió al sistema policial de EE.UU. para solicitar una escucha telefónica. Aunque los funcionarios dijeron El Correo de Washington que hay No hay evidencia de que los piratas informáticos hayan podido espiar la red.Es posible que hayan podido identificar a personas que están siendo investigadas por el gobierno de Estados Unidos.

El alcance total del hackeo de Salt Typhoon aún no está del todo claro. Afortunadamente, Neuberger dijo que no se cree que se haya comprometido ninguna información confidencial.

¿Cómo está respondiendo el gobierno de Estados Unidos al ataque del Salt Typhoon?

A raíz del ciberataque Salt Typhoon, lo dijo la Comisión Federal de Comunicaciones (FCC) de EE. UU. “Tomar medidas decisivas para abordar las vulnerabilidades en la red de comunicaciones de Estados Unidos”.

Específicamente, la FCC ha propuesto aclarar las leyes que exigen que las empresas de telecomunicaciones protejan sus redes contra los piratas informáticos. Esto dejaría claro que dichas medidas de seguridad incluyen no sólo los equipos, sino también la forma en que las empresas de telecomunicaciones gestionan sus redes.

La FCC también propuso nuevos requisitos de certificación anual para las empresas de telecomunicaciones, incluido el cumplimiento certificado de los nuevos planes de gestión de riesgos de ciberseguridad.

“A medida que las contrapartes del comité en la comunidad de inteligencia determinan el alcance y el impacto del ataque del Salt Typhoon, necesitamos desarrollar un marco moderno para ayudar a las empresas a proteger sus redes y prevenir y responder mejor a los ciberataques en el futuro”. dijo la presidenta de la FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel.

Un Subcomité de Comercio del Senado celebrará una audiencia sobre el hackeo del Salt Typhoon el 11 de diciembre para examinar las amenazas a la seguridad y las medidas de protección.



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TikTok Sues U.S. Government Over Bill Requiring Sale

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TikTok parent company ByteDance today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in an effort to put a stop to the bill requiring TikTok to be sold off to a non-Chinese company in a matter of months, or face a U.S. ban.

tiktok logo
The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that passed in April requires ByteDance to divest its TikTok ownership within nine months, with the possibility of a three-month extension if a deal is in progress. If TikTok is not sold off, the bill will prevent app stores and companies in the U.S. from providing the TikTok app to users. As of now, TikTok will be forced to shut down on January 19, 2025.

ByteDance calls the act “obviously unconstitutional,” and says that there is no path for TikTok to continue operating in the United States. The 270-day timeline is “not possible,” and even if it were, the company claims that the act is still an “extraordinary and unconstitutional assertion of power.”

If upheld, it would allow the government to decide that a company may no longer own and publish the innovative and unique speech platform it created. If Congress can do this, it can circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down. And for TikTok, any such divestiture would disconnect Americans from the rest of the global community on a platform devoted to shared content — an outcome fundamentally at odds with the Constitution’s commitment to both free speech and individual liberty.

The lawsuit argues that the act violates the First Amendment, and it claims that “speculative and analytically flawed” concern over security and content manipulation is an insufficient reason for limiting the free speech of TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users.

ByteDance says that a U.S. TikTok platform would not be commercially viable because it would limit the pool of content, undermining “the value and viability of the U.S. TikTok business.” ByteDance also claims that it would be technologically impossible to give the TikTok source code to a new owner because it would take years for new engineers to become familiar enough with the code to perform routine maintenance, plus the code would need to be rearchitected not to use ByteDance’s software tools, which cannot be done in 270 days.

The Chinese government has said that it will “firmly oppose” any effort to sell TikTok to a U.S. company, and China would need to approve a sale. China has no intention of allowing the TikTok recommendation engine to be divested. ByteDance has already moved U.S. data to servers owned by Oracle, but U.S. lawmakers do not feel that is enough to protect users.

There are few U.S. companies that could afford to purchase TikTok, and the tech giants that could buy it would likely be restricted from doing so due to antitrust concerns.

ByteDance is asking the court to issue a declaratory judgment that the act violates the U.S. Constitution, preventing the U.S. Attorney General from enforcing it.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.



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Apple Watch Series 9 Now Available on Apple’s Refurbished Store in U.S.

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Apple today began selling certified refurbished Apple Watch Series 9 models in the U.S. for the first time since the device was released in September.

Apple Watch Series 9
The refurbished Series 9 models are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent brand new models, with pricing starting at $339, down from $399. A variety of configurations are available as of writing.

Apple says it puts all of its refurbished products through a thorough cleaning process and inspection, and performs full functionality testing. In general, refurbished products sold directly by Apple have a very good reputation.

Like new Series 9 models sold directly by Apple in the U.S. currently, we expect that the Blood Oxygen app is deactivated on the refurbished models, due to a legal battle with medical technology company Masimo. Last year, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) banned Apple from importing and selling Apple Watch models with blood oxygen sensing after it ruled that the feature infringed on Masimo’s patents. Apple is appealing the decision, and could re-enable the Blood Oxygen app with a watchOS update if it is overturned.

As a reminder, Apple began selling refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 models in the U.S. and select other countries last week.

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Apple Watch Ultra 2 Now Available on Apple’s Refurbished Store in U.S.

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Apple today began selling certified refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 models in the U.S. for the first time since the device was released in September.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 hero feature blorange
As of writing, refurbished Ultra 2 models with the Blue, Orange, or White Ocean Band are available for $679, compared to $799 brand new.

Like new Ultra 2 models sold directly by Apple in the U.S. currently, we expect that the Blood Oxygen app is deactivated on the refurbished models, due to a legal battle with medical technology company Masimo. Last year, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) banned Apple from importing and selling Apple Watch models with blood oxygen sensing after it ruled that the feature infringed on Masimo’s patents. Apple is appealing the decision, and could re-enable the Blood Oxygen app with a watchOS update if it is overturned.

Availability began in the U.K. and China earlier this week, and the Blood Oxygen app remains functional outside of the U.S. currently.

There are no refurbished Apple Watch Series 9 models available on Apple’s store in the U.S. yet.

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Refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 Begins Rolling Out Outside U.S.

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Refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 units are now on sale in China – the first and only country in which the device is available refurbished directly from Apple.

apple watch ultra 2 purple
The refurbished models are discounted by approximately 15 percent compared to equivalent brand new configurations. Apple tests, inspects, cleans, and repackages all refurbished devices to ensure they are fully functional and in good condition, and they are covered by a one-year limited warranty and eligible for AppleCare+ coverage.

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Apple Chipmaker TSMC to Receive $6.6 Billion Grant to Step Up Production in the U.S.

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The United States Commerce Department today announced a significant financial commitment to Apple chip supplier TSMC to make more chips in the U.S. (via Bloomberg).

Apple Silicon Teal Feature
The White House shared a statement explaining that the U.S. Commerce Department will allocate a $6.6 billion subsidy to TSMC for the advancement of semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. TSMC will also receive $5 billion in loans and be eligible to claim an investment tax credit of up to 25% of capital expenditures. The move is part of a larger initiative under the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to rejuvenate the United States’ semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.

TSMC has already committed to an escalated investment of $25 billion, elevating its total investment to $65 billion. This is the largest foreign direct investment in a completely new project in U.S. history.

The chipmaker also announced plans to construct a third fabrication plant in Arizona by 2030. The first TSMC plant in Arizona will start producing 4nm chips next year. The second plant, which was originally designed to make 3nm chips, will also make 2nm ones by 2028. The third plant will produce 2nm chips with capacity to make even more advanced semiconductors in the future.

Apple’s most advanced chips are currently made in Taiwan using TSMC’s ‌3nm‌ process, so the ability to make these chips and even more powerful ones in the future in the United States could represent a significant shift for the company’s supply chain.

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Apple vs. the U.S. Department of Justice: What You Need to Know

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On March 21, the United States Justice Department sued Apple for antitrust violations, concluding a multi-year investigation into Apple’s business practices. The U.S. government is also pursuing antitrust cases against Google, Amazon, and Meta, as part of an expansive look into the practices of major tech companies.

Apple vs DOJ Feature
Apple plans to “vigorously defend” against the DoJ’s lawsuit, which seeks to fundamentally change the way that Apple operates. This will be a legal battle that spans multiple years, and we’ll keep this guide updated with the latest news as the case progresses.

DoJ’s Claims

The lawsuit that the DoJ filed against Apple is broad ranging, and rather than focusing on one or two issues, it aims to establish a long-running history of anti-competitive behavior. The DoJ tries to establish a pattern of business decisions that have suppressed competition, with the DoJ arguing that Apple has time and time again opted to “make its products worse for consumers to prevent competition from emerging.”

It is the opinion of the DoJ that Apple has gotten consumers “hooked” on its platform through these choices, making it unreasonably difficult for customers to switch to another smartphone brand. There is no allowance made for customer preference and the idea that people simply like their iPhones – the DoJ positions Apple as a monopolist that has manipulated people into sticking with its ecosystem by blocking competing apps, services, and products.

Suppressing Technologies

While the full lawsuit details a long list of ways Apple has allegedly harmed consumers, the DoJ cites five specific examples of Apple blocking technologies that it claims would decrease barriers to switching and give consumers a “higher-quality user experience on any smartphone.”

The DoJ is of the opinion that if Apple did not historically limit cloud gaming, digital wallets, and non-Apple Watch smartwatches, that people would freely choose to purchase less expensive alternative smartphones over the iPhone. The DoJ believes that Apple is not facing pressure from “innovative, cross-platform technologies” because Apple “makes other products worse” rather than making its own products better.

  • Super apps – The DoJ defines super apps as those that provide a user with “broad functionality” in a single app and have the benefit of providing a consistent user experience across devices. An example of a super app is WeChat, which is widely used in China for communicating, making payments, and more. The DoJ says that Apple has “denied users access to super apps” in the U.S., but it is worth noting that there is a cultural aspect to these apps, and they just haven’t caught on in the U.S. the way they have in China. Mini apps are often frequently referenced too, as Apple did have restrictions on apps offering mini games and other multi-app features (these restrictions were eliminated in iOS 17.4).
  • Cloud streaming – The DoJ suggests that Apple is suppressing cloud streaming games by preventing them from being available on the App Store. Cloud streaming apps have been usable on Safari, and as of iOS 17.4, Apple changed its rules to allow streaming game apps like Xbox Cloud Gaming to offer streaming games through a single ‌App Store‌ app. This argument is no longer entirely relevant, but the DoJ believes that by not allowing cloud gaming apps, Apple prevented consumers from buying cheaper phones. The idea here is that customers had to opt in to expensive iPhones to play “high-compute” games because they weren’t available to play using cloud services.
  • Messaging apps – The DoJ thinks that third-party apps should be able to send and receive SMS messages, rather than these messages being routed to the Messages app. This would let users switch phones without changing the way they communicate. The filing takes issue with the lack of an iMessage app for Android, Apple’s efforts to block the Beeper Mini app, green bubbles, and the adoption of RCS.
  • Smartwatches – Apple suppresses key functions of third-party smartwatches, preventing ‌iPhone‌ users from getting Apple Watch-like functionality from smartwatches with “better user interfaces and services.” The DoJ says that Apple locks customers in to the ‌iPhone‌ with the Apple Watch, because the Apple Watch can’t be used on other smartphones. A user who wants to switch from the ‌iPhone‌ must also purchase an Android-compatible smartwatch.
  • Digital Wallets – Apple does not let banking apps access NFC and provide digital payments services, and customers are not able to choose their “trusted banking apps” as their digital wallet. Apple also prevents developers from creating cross-platform wallets that would make it easier to switch from ‌iPhone‌ to Android, and alternative wallets could also be used for in-app purchases. The DoJ claims that the payments that banks make to Apple for using Apple Pay would otherwise be used for features and benefits for smartphone users.

Privacy and Security

The DoJ suggests that Apple justifies its anticompetitive conduct with privacy and security concerns.

  • Apple spends billions on marketing to promote “the self-serving premise that only Apple can safeguard consumers’ privacy and security interests.”
  • Apple selectively compromises privacy and security interests when it is in Apple’s financial interest. The examples used here include the lack of end-to-end encryption between Android and ‌iPhone‌ messages and the making Google the default browser engine when “more private options” are available.
  • The safe, secure experience on Mac is evidence that Apple’s control over app distribution and creation is “substantially more restrictive than necessary to protect user privacy and security.”
  • Apple makes the ‌iPhone‌ less secure if that helps it maintain monopoly power. The DoJ cites unencrypted text messages sent from iPhones to Android phones as an example. “If Apple wanted to,” it could let ‌iPhone‌ users send encrypted messages to Android users.

The App Store

The DoJ mentions Apple’s ‌App Store‌ policies and fees, but it is not the main focus of the lawsuit. While the DoJ was preparing its case, the Apple vs. Epic Games lawsuit took place, and Apple was found not to have a mobile gaming monopoly. That undoubtedly influenced the DoJ filing, but there is wording here

  • Apple uses ‌App Store‌ rules to “extract monopoly rents” from third-party developers.
  • Apple prohibits the creation and use of alternative app stores, and has arbitrary enforcement of its own ‌App Store‌ rules.
  • Developers are not able to offer web apps as an alternative to ‌App Store‌ apps because ‌iPhone‌ users “do not look for or know how to find web apps.”
  • Apple uses ‌App Store‌ rules and restrictions to penalize and restrict developers that threaten its monopoly. It does allow apps to use private APIs, and requires web browsers to use WebKit.
  • Apple’s efforts to restrict super apps and cloud streaming apps may have slowed the development of innovative apps related to education, artificial intelligence, and productivity. It has also kept app developers for creating features prohibited by Apple on other platforms.

iPhone Cost and Development

  • Apple inflates the price for buying and using iPhones.
  • Apple spent more than twice as much on stock buybacks and dividends as it did on research and development ($30B vs. $77B in fiscal 2023).
  • Apple slowed down innovation on ‌iPhone‌ to extract revenue from customers using subscriptions and cloud services.
  • Powerful, expensive hardware is unnecessary if consumers can play games through cloud streaming apps.

Services

  • Apple’s subscription services increase the cost of switching from the ‌iPhone‌ to another smartphone. The DoJ references Apple Arcade, Apple’s cloud storage, and Apple News+ because these are exclusive to the ‌iPhone‌. This results in “significant frictions” for ‌iPhone‌ users who want to switch.
  • Apple uses its “rapidly expanding” role as a TV and movie producer to control content and affect the “flow of speech.”

“Green Bubbles” and iMessage

  • By using green bubbles, Apple “signals to users” that rival smartphones are lower quality because the experience of messaging non-iPhone users is worse. The DoJ says this is because conversations are not encrypted, videos are grainy, and users cannot edit messages or see typing indicators.
  • Non-iPhone users experience “social stigma, exclusion, and blame” for “breaking” chats with where other participants own iPhones. This is “particularly powerful” for teenagers, and “social pressure” causes teens to switch to ‌iPhone‌.
  • While the DoJ’s comments on messaging largely ignore that Apple plans to bring feature parity with ‌RCS‌, it says that won’t be enough because third-party apps still won’t be able to be set as the default app for SMS/‌RCS‌ messages.
  • The DoJ speculates that because ‌RCS‌ improves over time, Apple might not support later versions of ‌RCS‌, so cross-platform messages “could soon be broken on iPhones” after Apple adds ‌RCS‌ support later in 2024.
  • The DoJ references Beeper Mini, an app that gained access to Apple’s iMessage servers by exploiting fake credentials. The DoJ claims that it was a solution that “fixed” the broken cross-platform messaging experience. Apple made ‌iPhone‌ users less secure because it also supported end-to-end encryption.

CarPlay

  • Apple’s next-generation CarPlay forces an iPhone-centric experience by taking over “all of the screens, sensors, and gauges” in a car in order to use ‌CarPlay‌ features. The DoJ suggests Apple is leveraging the ‌iPhone‌ user base to exert power over American carmakers and restrict innovation, but Apple has so far not seen a lot of traction with ‌CarPlay‌ 2 and many car makers, such as Tesla and GM, are opting out of ‌CarPlay‌.

Competitors

  • The DoJ claims that Apple is the reason that only Google and Samsung remain as meaningful competitors in the premium smartphone market.
  • The DoJ blames Apple’s market dominance for failed smartphones that include the Amazon Fire Phone and the Microsoft Windows Phone.

Other DoJ Claims

  • The iPod was successful because of the DoJ’s antitrust case against Microsoft because it allowed Apple to launch iTunes on Windows PCs. “Microsoft did not charge Apple a 30 percent fee for each song downloaded from the iTunes Store.”
  • The DoJ holds itself responsible for Apple’s success. U.S. vs. Microsoft “created new opportunities for innovation,” and without this case, Apple would have had more difficulty achieving success with the iPod and the subsequent ‌iPhone‌.
  • Apple made smartphones other than the ‌iPhone‌ worse by stifling the growth of cloud gaming apps and interactive AI services.
  • The DoJ says that Apple copied the idea of a smartwatch from third-party developers.
  • The DoJ warns that Apple may “use its power to force its own users (and their data to become its next profitable product.”

DoJ’s Market Definition

The DoJ suggests that Apple violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which says that it is illegal to acquire or maintain monopoly power “through improper means.” To make this argument, the DoJ needs to prove that Apple is a monopoly power in a relevant market, and that Apple used anticompetitive conduct to achieve and maintain that monopoly.

Sherman Act claims failed in Epic vs. Apple because ‌Epic Games‌ was not successful narrowing down the defined market in which Apple had a supposed monopoly. ‌Epic Games‌ argued that the relevant market was apps on Apple devices, but the court decided it was all digital mobile gaming transactions. Apple was not found to have a monopoly.

The DoJ is also using a narrowed market definition that may not hold up. It has created a “performance smartphone market” defined as a “more expensive segment of the broader smartphone market.” In this “performance market,” Apple’s U.S. market share by revenue is over 70 percent. In the “broader smartphone market” in the U.S., Apple has a 65 percent share.

It could be tough for the DoJ to prove that Apple has a monopoly with only a 65 percent share of the market. 70 percent market share is a more solid argument for a monopoly, but the case against Apple won’t be as strong as the case against Google. Google, for example, has a 90 percent share of the search engine market.

Apple claims that it operates in a global market, and that the market share that should be considered is the global market share. Apple only has around a 20 percent cut of the global market.

The DoJ also argues that Apple has a larger share “among key demographics” such as higher-income households and among young people.

What the DoJ Wants

The DoJ wants the court to find that Apple has acted unlawfully to monopolize or attempt to monopolize the U.S. smartphone market. It has asked for “relief as needed” to address anticompetitive harm and restore competitive conditions, and a ruling that prevents Apple from continuing to engage in anticompetitive practices.

According to the DoJ, Apple should be prevented from using its control of app distribution to undermine cross-platform technologies, that it should not be able to use private APIs to undermine cross-platform technologies like messaging and smartwatches, and that Apple should be prevented from using the terms and conditions of its contracts with developers, consumers, and accessory makers to maintain a monopoly.

Apple’s Response

Apple has an official statement on the DoJ’s lawsuit:

At Apple, we innovate every day to make technology people love–designing products that work seamlessly together, protect people’s privacy and security, and create a magical experience for our users. This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple–where hardware, software, and services intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it.

Apple has also held media briefings and shared information on key facts in the lawsuit. Some highlights:

  • The DoJ has changed the scope of its case six times due to the results in ‌Epic Games‌ v. Apple and other lawsuits. Several theories were considered and had to be abandoned because of a lack of evidence.
  • Apple says that the lawsuit won’t be successful because it does not get the facts right. It would set a dangerous precedent for government interference in technology, and would make the ‌iPhone‌ less private, less secure, and more vulnerable to malware. The ‌iPhone‌ would not be able to operate as well with other Apple products, and user information would be put at risk.
  • Apple claims the DoJ wants to turn the ‌iPhone‌ into an Android, and that the case goes after the key features that make the ‌iPhone‌ experience unique.
  • Apple does not believe the lawsuit has a basis in antitrust law and seems to be suggesting that Apple has an obligation to design its products in a way that would help competitors.
  • In a recent ruling in the AliveCor v. Apple dispute, the court said that it cannot oversee technology and innovation, and it is not for the court to analyze algorithms.
  • The DoJ ignored changes to streaming game apps and plans to implement ‌RCS‌, and Apple says that super apps have always been permitted.
  • Apple claims the DoJ is trying to fit Apple into the theories that were successful in the antitrust case against Microsoft 20 years back, but Apple does not agree with the parallels. Microsoft had a 95 percent share of the market, and Apple says that business decisions are made to provide consumers with maximum privacy and safety.
  • Apple says the DoJ misses that customers are loyal because they are satisfied with their devices and love Apple products.
  • Apple claims it spent three years looking at whether it made sense to make an Apple Watch for Android, but ultimately chose not to make one because it would be inferior and would have limits impacting privacy and security.
  • iMessage has not been designed for other platforms because Apple doesn’t have a way to verify that a third-party device has encryption and authentication procedures that meet its standards, and that security issues on third-party devices could expose the content of ‌iPhone‌ users’ messages, leading to fraud and spam issues.

Read the Full Lawsuit

What’s Next

Now that the DoJ has filed a lawsuit, Apple will have a 60-day period to respond. Apple plans to move to dismiss the complaint.

If that doesn’t happen, the case will move forward. There will be briefings, hearings, and a discovery period. It will be a few months before there are additional filings, and the entire legal process will span for multiple years. Apple says that it plans to vigorously fight the case.

Should the judge assigned to the case rule in the DoJ’s favor, there will be appeals and then remedies for the anticompetitive behavior will need to be determined.

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Apple Responds to Being Sued by U.S. Department of Justice

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The U.S. Department of Justice today filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of having an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market with the iPhone and its ecosystem, as reported by The Verge.

Apple Logo 16x9 US Flag Feature
In a statement shared with MacRumors, Apple said the lawsuit is “wrong” and that it will “vigorously defend” against it:

At Apple, we innovate every day to make technology people love—designing products that work seamlessly together, protect people’s privacy and security, and create a magical experience for our users. This lawsuit threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets. If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect. It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology. We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it.

More details to follow…

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Apple Facing Imminent U.S. Antitrust Lawsuit

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The United States Justice Department is preparing to sue Apple for violating antitrust law as soon as Thursday, reports Bloomberg. The lawsuit will be the culmination of an investigation that initially started in 2019 as an antitrust review of major technology companies. U.S. regulators have already sued Google, Meta, and Amazon.

iphone 15 sizes
Over the last several years, Apple officials have met with the DoJ multiple times, and the investigation has covered everything from iMessage to ad practices. Some of what the DoJ has looked into:

  • How the Apple Watch works better with iPhone than other smart watches do.
  • How Apple locks competitors out of iMessage.
  • How Apple blocks financial firms from offering tap-to-pay services similar to Apple Pay.
  • Whether Apple favors its own apps and services over those provided by third-party developers.
  • How Apple has blocked cloud gaming apps from the App Store.
  • How Apple restricts the ‌‌iPhone‌‌’s location services from devices that compete with AirTag.
  • How App Tracking Transparency impacted the collection of advertising data.
  • In-app purchase fees collected by Apple.

Apple competitors like Tile, Beeper, Basecamp, Meta, and Spotify have had discussions with antitrust investigators to voice their complaints about Apple’s practices, as have big banks. According to Bloomberg, the DoJ plans to argue that Apple has used illegal practices to maintain a dominant market position, blocking competitors from hardware and software features on the ‌iPhone‌.

Back in 2020, a United States House Judiciary Subcommittee investigation concluded that Apple, Meta, Google, and Amazon have the “kinds of monopolies” last seen in “the era of oil barons and railroad tycoons.” The subcommittee recommended new antitrust law, but the DoJ opted to target Google before going after Apple because Apple was embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit with Epic Games.

Apple in iOS 17.4 had to make sweeping changes to the way the ‌App Store‌ operates in the European Union to comply with the Digital Markets Act, and it was also recently fined $2 billion in Europe for anti-competitive behavior against rival music services.

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Apple Preparing to Sell Refurbished Ultra 2 and Series 9 Watches in U.S.

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Apple appears to be gearing up to sell refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 models on its online store in the U.S. for the first time.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 hero feature white
Apple recently added grayed-out labels for the Ultra 2 and Series 9 to its desktop refurbished website in the U.S., suggesting that it plans to sell refurbished models of those devices at some point. It is unclear exactly when availability will begin, but this is a routine step that Apple takes shortly before selling new refurbished models.

Like new Ultra 2 and Series 9 models sold directly by Apple in the U.S. currently, it is expected that the Blood Oxygen app would be deactivated on the refurbished models, due to a legal battle with medical technology company Masimo. In October, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) banned Apple from importing and selling Apple Watch models with blood oxygen sensing after it ruled that the feature infringed on Masimo’s patents.

Apple stopped selling refurbished Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 8 models in the U.S. after the ban took effect, as those also offer the Blood Oxygen app.

It is also possible that Apple and Masimo could reach a settlement before Apple starts selling refurbished Ultra 2 and Series 9 models, allowing for the Blood Oxygen app to be activated on the devices. If not, the feature could still be re-enabled with a watchOS software update in the future, if and when the legal battle is resolved.

On a related note, the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra has never been offered on Apple’s refurbished store in the U.S., but it is available in the U.K., Ireland, China, and Japan. Since the ITC’s ruling applies to the U.S. only, the Blood Oxygen app is still functional on Apple Watch models sold in all other countries.

U.S. customers who want an Ultra 2 or Series 9 with the Blood Oxygen app activated can still purchase one from Best Buy for now.

Thanks, Stewart Dunford!

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