U.S. Justice Department sues Apple for alleged monopoly in smartphone markets

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Justice Department, along with 16 other state and district attorneys general, on Thursday filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of illegally maintaining a monopoly over smartphones.

"Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits, but by violating federal antitrust law," Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference in Washington, D.C.