Apple could be free of the e-books antitrust monitor that has been monitoring their business dealing for the last two years. The U.S Department of Justice has recommended against extending monitor Michael Bromwich’s term.
In a joint letter to U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote on Monday, neither plaintiffs nor Apple recommend extending the monitorship of Michael Bromwich, who was installed in 2013 after the company was found culpable of conspiring to fix the price of e-books sold through the iBooks Store.
While Apple and Bromwich were never “best buds,” it was noted that the company has implemented a “vast majority” of the monitor’s recommendations.
The government said Apple has “now implemented meaningful antitrust policies, procedures, and training programs that were obviously lacking at the time Apple participated in and facilitated the horizontal price-fixing conspiracy found by this court.”
Bromwich submitted what may be his final compliance report last week, noting that while Apple still tends to resist requests for information, they have made satisfactory progress. If Bromwich’s term is ended, an internal Apple antitrust compliance monitor will continue to oversee the company’s dealing for at least another three years.
Apple noted in the letter that it will continue to comply with its obligations going forward, and that while its relationship with Bromwich has been “rocky,” the company had been able to work with the monitor in the creation of what the company called a world-class antitrust program.
