DOJ gets jurisdiction for potential Apple investigation: report

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will take the lead in any future investigation of Apple’s market power, as regulators move toward a wider review of Silicon Valley’s antitrust concerns, Reuters reported on Monday.

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the two agencies tasked with antitrust enforcement, reached an agreement in recent weeks to divvy up the responsibilities for overseeing Silicon Valley, according to multiple media reports over the last several days.

The DOJ would reportedly be responsible for pursuing Apple and Google, while the FTC would take on any antitrust investigations concerning Facebook and Amazon.

{mosads}It’s unclear whether there are any plans to investigate any of the companies, but such a plan to allocate jurisdictions would likely precede a more formal probe.

There’s also no indication of what issues those agencies would investigate, but Apple has faced antitrust allegations recently.

Spotify, which competes with Apple Music, said in a complaint filed with the European Union earlier this year that Apple has been using its control of its app marketplace to tip the scales in favor of its own music streaming service.

An Apple spokesman did not immediately respond when asked for comment.