Apple faces multi-state investigation due to deceptive trade practices

On Friday, Axios Media Inc. reported a document acquired by tech watchdog group Tech Transparency Project which indicates that multiple U.S. states were investigating Apple (AAPL) due to deceptive trade practices.

According to the report, details are still unclear on how Texas’s Attorney General Ken Paxton and some multi-state investigators found out that Apple had broken consumer protection laws. It also stated that it might lead to the latest lawsuit against Apple.

Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook would testify before the U.S. House of Judiciary Committee on Monday (July 27).

“In the bigger picture, this news likely represents just a foretaste of what is likely to come to post the November U.S. elections by way of stepped-up antitrust/anti-monopoly investigations of ‘big tech’, including Google and Facebook, as well as EU-orchestrated efforts for a new digital tax regime for global technology behemoths,” National Australia Bank’s Economist Ray Attrill stated in an interview.

Apple’s shares were down by 4.6% on Wall Street after the morning trade.