Senator Schumer Urges DOJ to Drop Apple eBook Suit

Senator Charles Schumer is urging the Department of Justice to drop the Apple eBook antitrust suit which was filed earlier this year.

In a memo in the Wall Street Journal, Schumer argues that the case will simply restore Amazon to the top of the ebooks market, which it was before Apple arrived.

Recently the Department of Justice filed suit against Apple and major publishers, alleging that they colluded to raise prices in the digital books market. While the claim sounds plausible on its face, the suit could wipe out the publishing industry as we know it, making it much harder for young authors to get published.

The suit will restore Amazon to the dominant position atop the e-books market it occupied for years before competition arrived in the form of Apple. If that happens, consumers will be forced to accept whatever prices Amazon sets.

The DOJ argues that Apple allowed publishers to set the price which drove ebook prices up, compared to Amazon who had a set price of $9.99. The DOJ blames Apple for putting the cost into the publishers hand and not the retailer.

Apple did refute the department's claims when the initial suit was filed.

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