Cheaper app subscriptions. Greater freedom for app developers on the App Store. More consumer choice. Those are some of the possibilities that consumer advocates hope will come to pass for users of Apple products if the U.S. Department of Justice wins its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, accuses Apple of stifling competition and leveraging its influence and ownership of the popular App Store to increase prices for customers. If the DOJ succeeds in its case, the implications for Apple’s business could be significant.

For years, the Apple App Store has taken up to 30% of revenue from app subscriptions or in-app purchases from third-party developers. Developers have said this cut makes it difficult to keep their businesses viable, so they pass that charge on to consumers. Unlike Google’s Android operating system, which runs on Google phones as well as other devices such as Samsung’s, Apple products operate only through its own software, iOS. The only way that third-party developers can get their app onto Apple’s App Store is by following the iPhone maker’s rules. If they don’t, they risk losing out on millions of customers.

Apple has long argued that its business model of creating a tightly controlled ecosystem of software and hardware benefits its customers. “If successful, it would hinder our ability to create the kind of technology people expect from Apple—where hardware, software, and services intersect,” Apple said. “It would also set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.” Apple’s App Store ecosystem generated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022, according to Analysis Group. Apple asserted that more than 90% of billings and sales went to developers and businesses without any commission given to Apple.

But some analysts say that Apple’s competitors make smaller profits but still provide a level of security and service that protects consumers—and therefore, Apple should be less restrictive. Apple’s margins are much larger than the rest of the industry. When a company has what appears to be excessive margin, it raises the potential of an abuse of monopoly power.

Critics say that Apple abuses its position as a gatekeeper for the App Store, launching similar Apple products that directly compete against rivals and put them at a disadvantage. Apple is not the best at everything and there are numerous examples of apps out there where Apple has had it pushed or made its own version, and it’s not as high quality as what third parties have developed. By (Apple) constantly putting itself at the forefront, it’s often making it so that consumers don’t have a choice of the best option.

Many analysts see similarities to the Department of Justice lawsuit and settlement with Microsoft over antitrust practices in 2002. It set the tone for the whole internet age. If Microsoft had been allowed to dominate that market, we would never have the proliferation of companies that came about with innovative products. If Microsoft could have forced everyone who had a Windows operating system to use their browser, then there’d be no Google.

In critics’ opinion, Apple’s control over the App Store results in