Over the years, many companies have come under the heavy hand of the governemnt, especially the Department of Justice. Most of the complaints stem from a form of monopoly or underhanded business practices. The last major tech company that comes to mind was Microsoft.
Over the course of several year the DOJ battled with Microsoft on areas of the browser, how it dealt with suppliers and it's interaction and deals with PC makers. Granted some of those deals were a bit heavy handed, but the real issue was Microsoft was making too much money.
So fast forward to today. Microsoft is basically treading water and staying the nice and steady course. And with the exception of the EU you really don't hear of any government issues. For Apple the story is a bit different.
Apple released the iPhone a little over two years ago and since that time the FCC and others have chimed in on the exclusive deal with AT&T, its application store policies, the big brother aspect of the iPhone and the information the company releases about their executives (Steve Jobs). So is it just a matter of time before the DOJ jumps and and forces Apple to change their business practices.
Granted some of the complaints and policies Apple has over the application store seem to be valid, but it is their application store thus their rules. Even if they do seem a bit over the top.
The same applies to the deal with AT&T as the only US wireless carrier to have the iPhone. I won't go into the details of why these two companies partnered together, but it only makes good sense from a manufacturing perspective. For reference, every cell phone I have had has been exclusive to one of the wireless providers. So nothing new here.
So what could be the reason, money. Apple has been above the curve in the recession. They have tons of cash on hand and they are still making money. And with the popularity of the iPhone it gives the DOJ a chance to look like the good guy while milking Apple for millions in fines. We have not seen this come about yet, but we have seen congress and others ramping up their investigations.
Is their an upside to these investigations, yes. There is also the downside of more government influence. In the end, I would like the app store to be a bit more open so that applications like Google Voice can be made available. As far as the deal with AT&T, it won't matter once LTE/4G roles out. Because this will allow Apple to make one handset for all the US providers.
In the end we won't see any major changes from Apple but we will see a lot of talking. And by the time settlements are reached the original complaints won't even be valid as tech slows down for no one.
Note: Sorry for the lack of links in this story as it was written on the go.