The Department of Justice may settle its long-running antitrust suit against Apple, and developers including Epic Games and PayPal are worried the outcome will do little to stop future App Store behavior.
More than two years after the DOJ sued Apple in a major antitrust case, the department has signaled it would consider settling. According to a report from *The Information*, Justice Department officials told developers they would now prefer to settle rather than keep fighting. Epic Games and PayPal argue that a settlement would not stop Apple from repeating or continuing its alleged antitrust conduct.
The companies reportedly expect any settlement to impose only light requirements on how Apple devices work with rival firms' products. Unnamed sources within the developers said the DOJ had asked how Apple could improve iPhone interoperability, which they took as a sign the department wants to end the dispute. Neither Epic Games, PayPal, nor Apple has commented publicly, and the DOJ declined to discuss specifics, saying it will "continue to prioritize affordability for all Americans."
It is unclear whether the developers' concerns are well-founded. A settlement looks increasingly likely, in part because the DOJ's case was vague at best, and settlement talks were reported as early as July 2026. The DOJ filed suit in March 2024 under the Biden administration, together with four US states, accusing Apple of anticompetitive conduct that allegedly violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. Apple appealed and its request for dismissal was refused, so in July 2025 it publicly rebutted the suit paragraph by paragraph, calling each accusation false.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing