Tim Cook

The Department of Justice and several states sued Apple in 2024, alleging that it unlawfully maintained a monopoly in smartphones through restrictions affecting, among other things, super-apps, cloud gaming, messaging, smartwatches and digital wallets.

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Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

In the Epic Games litigation, a federal court found in April 2025 that Apple had wilfully violated the anti-steering injunction, notably by imposing a 27% commission on certain external purchases and restricting links to alternative payment methods. In December 2025, the Ninth Circuit upheld the contempt finding while ruling that certain corrective restrictions were too broad and remanding part of the case.

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In 2024, Apple promised a more personalised version of Siri capable of using more of the user's context, but several features were substantially delayed. Shareholders subsequently accused Apple and its executives of overstating progress on AI and App Store compliance, allegedly inflating market expectations.

State of the evidence

Allegations

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West Virginia sued Apple in February 2026, alleging that certain iCloud design and encryption choices limited detection of child sexual abuse material. Apple sought to move the case to federal court. In July 2026, the case was remanded to state court, where the allegations remained undecided.

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After fifteen years leading Apple, Cook handed the CEO role to John Ternus in early September 2026 but remained executive chairman. Governance analysts observed that a powerful former CEO retaining an executive chairmanship could blur the new chief executive's accountability; remuneration linked to the new role also drew comment.

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Elon Musk's companies X Corp and SpaceXAI sued Apple and OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT's integration into Apple Intelligence and certain App Store practices unlawfully restricted competition in smartphones and AI assistants. In September 2026, X and SpaceXAI withdrew their claims against Apple after a confidential agreement, while litigation against OpenAI continued.

State of the evidence

Allegations

India's consumer protection authority deepened an investigation in 2026 into Apple's software warranty policy after complaints alleging that iOS 18 updates had caused malfunctions and repair costs. The authority was examining in particular whether a blanket exclusion of software from warranty coverage could infringe consumer rights.

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Employees accused Apple of using confidentiality and internal communications rules that discouraged discussion of working conditions. A labour agency complaint specifically targeted a September 2021 email from Cook promising to identify people leaking internal information.

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Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature, presented as a privacy tool, was sanctioned by French and Italian competition authorities. France imposed a €150 million fine in March 2025 and Italy a €98.6 million fine in December 2025, finding that its implementation disproportionately disadvantaged third-party developers or advertisers.

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The European Commission found that Apple had breached its anti-steering obligation under the Digital Markets Act by limiting developers' ability to inform users free of charge about offers outside the App Store, and fined it €500 million.

Tim Cook personally pledged $1 million to Donald Trump's inauguration committee in 2025, at a time when several major technology executives were seeking to establish or strengthen relationships with the new administration.

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Personally implicated

On 10 September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union definitively upheld the Commission's decision that Ireland had granted Apple unlawful tax advantages, requiring recovery of approximately €13 billion.

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Following a complaint from Spotify, the European Commission fined Apple €1.84 billion for rules preventing music streaming services from effectively informing users about cheaper offers outside the App Store.

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After a four-year antitrust review, Apple agreed in 2024 to open free access to the iPhone's NFC technology to competing wallets in the European Economic Area, addressing concerns that Apple Pay enjoyed privileged access.

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Apple removed WhatsApp and Threads from its Chinese App Store on orders from the Chinese regulator, which cited national security concerns; Signal and Telegram also disappeared according to app-tracking services.

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Apple faced longstanding criticism from right-to-repair advocates over its control of parts, tools, software and manuals. After opening a programme to independent repairers in 2019, Apple announced in 2021 that it would sell parts and tools directly to consumers for the first time through Self Service Repair.

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In 2021, Apple announced technology intended to detect known images of child sexual abuse in libraries destined for iCloud. Security researchers, NGOs and employees warned that the architecture could establish a precedent for surveillance. Apple initially delayed the system and decided in 2022 not to deploy it.

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Apple acknowledged reducing the maximum performance of certain iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns caused by ageing batteries. Many consumers and regulators considered that the practice had been introduced without sufficient information. In 2020, Apple agreed to pay $113 million to settle allegations by 33 states and the District of Columbia, in addition to a class action settlement worth up to $500 million.

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Following criticism from Chinese state media, Apple removed HKmap.live, a crowdsourced mapping application used during Hong Kong protests to report, among other things, police movements.

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Apple and Qualcomm fought numerous cases worldwide over patent licensing and Qualcomm's commercial practices. In April 2019, the two companies settled all their disputes, with Apple agreeing to make a payment to Qualcomm and signing a six-year licensing agreement and a multiyear chip supply agreement.

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Apple transferred Chinese users' iCloud accounts to infrastructure operated locally with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data and stored in China the keys needed to access the accounts. Experts warned that Chinese authorities could consequently obtain data more easily through the local legal system.

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Apple removed several VPN applications from its Chinese App Store that allowed users to bypass the 'Great Firewall'. Providers accused Apple of assisting Chinese censorship.

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US courts found that Apple had conspired with five major publishers to raise e-book prices. After the finding was upheld on appeal, the Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2016, making Apple's liability final and triggering $400 million in refunds to purchasers.

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Direct responsibility

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

After the San Bernardino attack, a federal judge ordered Apple to provide technical assistance to the FBI to access an attacker's iPhone. Cook publicly refused to create what he described as a back door, arguing that the precedent would weaken security for all users.

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A bipartisan US Senate investigation described Apple's complex structure of Irish subsidiaries, enabling tens of billions of dollars in revenue to remain outside US taxation and, for certain entities, without a claimed tax residence. Tim Cook was called to testify and defended the company's tax policy.

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Soon after the launch of iOS 6, Apple Maps was heavily criticised for incorrect locations, incomplete data and faulty directions. Tim Cook issued a rare public apology letter, acknowledging that Apple had 'fallen short' and temporarily recommending competing services.

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Early in Cook's tenure as CEO, Apple faced substantial pressure over working conditions at its Chinese suppliers, particularly Foxconn. Apple asked the Fair Labor Association to conduct extensive independent inspections of factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu.

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