iPhone App Makers Questioned In US Antitrust Apple Probe

The US Justice Department has reached out to app developers as part of its investigation into Apple Inc AAPL.O, one of the four big tech companies being probed for alleged anti-competitive behavior, according to Reuters. 

The chief executive of developer Mobicip, Suren Ramasubbu, told Reuters he was interviewed in November by a US investigator who asked about the company’s interactions with Apple. The app, which has nearly a million users worldwide, allows parents to control what their children see on their iPhones.

Ramasubbu said the Mobicip app was temporarily removed from the iPhone app store last year for a failure to meet requirements imposed by Apple.

A source familiar with the Justice Department’s investigation said a handful of app developers had been contacted in what is the first indication of what officials are pursuing involving Apple since the investigation was revealed by Reuters in June.

US President Donald Trump has criticized Apple’s Silicon Valley neighbors for other reasons, calling for closer scrutiny of social media companies and Google and accusing them of suppressing conservative voices online, without presenting any evidence.

US Attorney General William Barr said in December that he hoped to have the Justice Department investigations into the big tech platforms – Facebook, Alphabet’s GOOGL.O Google, Amazon.com and Apple, wrapped up this year.