Last month, the Justice Department charged tech giant Apple with serious antitrust violations related to the iPhone. It’s a relatively aggressive suit — but likely an inadequate response to Apple’s outsize power.

  • Kindness
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    8 months ago

    Depends on how big the fine is. Anything with an ‘m’ instead of a ‘b’ is just the cost of doing business.

    • besbin
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      8 months ago

      At this point a case need to be hundred of “b” to be more than cost of doing business for Apple. The ‘m’ fine are just rounding errors

      • Kindness
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        8 months ago

        Apple grosses between 150b and 170b annually.

        Demanding they pay more than they make in a year would lead to a 3 trillion dollar company going to war against their government. And not just a court battle. We are nearing the point at which corporations can contest with governments.

        Imagine the entire next generation being brainwashed into disrupting supply chains. Gen Z children sabotaging transportation routes, physically protesting, because their status symbol told them the government was corrupt.

        Could the USA take Apple? Yes. But that’s a fight they’d be wise to not incite.

            • Kindness
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              8 months ago

              Exactly. Apple is literally half of the US government’s current propaganda conduit.

              Not to mention, if you’ve got even 1 billion USD to burn, you can hire one heck of a merc. group.