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The disabling of Beeper Mini's iMessage capability for Android has piqued the interest of two US authorities. Senators and Representatives have now asked a higher authority to investigate Apple's anti-competitive activities. The four US officials reportedly wrote a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting an investigation into whether the Cupertino behemoth violated any US anti-trust laws.
US Government Officials Want DOJ to Investigate Apple for its Anti-Competitive Behavior
The US officials sent a signed letter to the DOJ, requesting that the law enforcement body investigate “whether Apple's potentially anti-competitive conduct against Beeper violates US antitrust laws.” The letter was signed by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Utah Senator Mike Lee, Congressman Jerry Nadler, and Congressman Ken Buck, as per WCCFTech.
The signed letter comes only days after Senator Elizabeth Warren discovered that Apple had disabled Beeper Mini and chastised the technology behemoth for prioritizing profits over user privacy and security. Apple previously indicated that it removed Beeper Mini in order to protect iPhone customers' safety and privacy. Even while Beeper Mini and Beeper Cloud have tried multiple times to restore the service, it appears that Apple is still interfering with their efforts.
Messaging Disruptions and Potential Legal Hurdles with Apple
Beeper Mini said on Reddit yesterday that 60% of its users were unable to send or receive messages. However, the company appears to be motivated to get this resolved, as the post noted that Beeper Mini is “working to get this addressed.”
Given that Apple owns the iMessage servers, it is likely that the DOJ will dismiss this letter, effectively ending the investigation. It is also likely that Beeper Mini will get into legal difficulty with Apple in the near future as a result of its continuous efforts, which might be the final nail in the coffin.
Photo: Niccolò Chiamori/Unsplash
