New York:

The US Department of Justice is considering a deal with Boeing that would avoid criminal prosecution of the aerospace giant but may appoint a federal supervisor to oversee company progress on safety improvements, The New York Times reported Friday.

People familiar with the discussions told the daily that the terms of the possible alternative settlement, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, or DPA, are still subject to change.

A DOJ official involved in the case, Glenn Leon, chief of the fraud section criminal division, said in an email to a civil party lawyer seen by AFP that the department “has not made a decision” on the path it will take with respect to Boeing.

The DOJ is determining its next steps after concluding in May that Boeing could be prosecuted for violating a criminal settlement following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 which claimed 346 lives.

But the Times, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reported that after substantial internal debate, Justice officials “appear to have concluded that prosecuting Boeing would be too legally risky.”

Officials also reportedly believe that the appointment of a watchdog would be “a quicker, more efficient way” to ensure safety and quality control improvements are made, the newspaper said.

Last month, the DOJ told the judge in the case it would give its decision no later than July 7.

The DOJ’s Leon emailed Paul Cassell, a lawyer for families in the criminal case against Boeing, saying the Times reporting “was simply not correct.”

Boeing did not respond to AFP requests for reaction.

– No decision –

The troubled planemaker had contested the department’s conclusions in mid-June, but has recognized the gravity of the safety crisis and CEO Dave Calhoun told Congress that Boeing is “taking action and making progress.”

In January 2021, Justice announced an initial DPA in which Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle fraud charges over certification of the 737 MAX.

But since early 2023, the manufacturer has experienced multiple production and quality control problems on its commercial aircraft, as well as mid-flight incidents including in January when a door plug panel flew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9.

The DOJ says Boeing’s violation of several provisions of the initial agreement, including measures requiring it to bolster its internal controls to detect and deter fraud, opened the company to prosecution.

Victims’ families have called for the criminal prosecution of Boeing and its executives, and are seeking a nearly $25 billion fine.

A new DPA would allow the US government to resolve Boeing’s violations without a trial.

That could serve as a victory of sorts for Boeing, a company seen as critical to the US aviation industry as well as national security.

Cassell, the families’ lawyer, warned against sealing an agreement avoiding trial.

“We hope that the Department is not using its claim to have not yet made a ‘final decision’ as a ploy to gain additional time to hammer out a DPA deal with Boeing,” Cassell said in a statement.

“The first DPA deal failed. There is no reason to think a second one would be any better,” he said, adding it’s time for “moving forward with a trial and obtaining a guilty verdict against Boeing.”

Such lawsuits in the past have forced companies into filing for bankruptcy, the Times reported, and a conviction could potentially prevent Boeing from receiving government contracts.

Boeing’s defense, space and security segment generated $25 billion in 2023, nearly a third of the company’s sales.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The US Department of Justice sued Apple on Thursday for illegally maintaining a monopoly for its iPhone by stifling competition and imposing exorbitant costs on consumers.

The lawsuit, also brought by multiple US states, attacked the iPhone for raking in hundreds of billions of dollars by making it difficult for consumers to switch away to cheaper smartphones and devices.

The long anticipated case against Apple sees the company founded by Steve Jobs in 1976 clash with Washington after largely escaping US government scrutiny for nearly a half century.

It joins Amazon, Google and Facebook-owner Meta which are also facing antitrust lawsuits in the United States.

News of the lawsuit sent shares in Apple down by as much as 3.75 percent on Wall Street on Thursday.

At the heart of the case is Apple’s alleged exclusionary practices that set strict and at times opaque conditions on firms and developers seeking to reach the iPhone’s 136 million US users.

According to the lawsuit, these rules and decisions have been designed to force Apple users into staying in the Apple ecosystem and buying the company’s more expensive hardware, the iPhone.

“Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate the antitrust laws,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

“If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly,” he added.

Apple fights back

The far-reaching case singled out practices that it said was making Apple richer to the detriment of advancing innovation and technology for consumers.

In a statement, Apple denied the merit of the lawsuit, saying it was “wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it.”

If successful, the suit would “set a dangerous precedent, empowering government to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology,” the company added.

The lawsuit for example accused Apple of squashing the creation of Super Apps, one-stop web portals that could exist on an iPhone and give consumers other ways to get services, such as music, photo or movies.

Other big tech giants such as Meta have long dreamed of opening such super-apps on the iPhone, which accounts for roughly half of the smartphone market in the United States.

The accusations also target Apple’s wallet, which is the only application allowed on the iPhone to access the technology to make tap payments in stores, forcing others to pay a fee.

Messaging apps are under the microscope too, with prosecutors accusing Apple of making it hard for Apple users to interact easily with Android phone users, coercing them to buying the more expensive iPhone.

The broad case also mentions smartwatches, with the Apple Watch only being available through the iPhone, and competing smartwatches having very limited functionality on the iPhone.

The complaint alleges that these nefarious practices go into other services such as web browsers, entertainment and even automotive services.

In recent years Apple has invested heavily in promoting services as well as hardware as it seeks ways to make money beyond the iPhone, which was introduced in 2007 and changed the world of consumer technology.

But iPhone sales growth has been slowing in recent years, raising pressure on the company to find other sources of revenue.

The DOJ pointed out that Apple’s profits exceed any other company in the Fortune 500 and that it exceeds the gross domestic product of more than 100 countries.

In 2023, Apple saw global sales of $383 billion and net profit of $97 billion.

The DOJ’s investigation of Apple began in 2019 under the Trump administration.

Apple largely won a US lawsuit from Fortnite-maker Epic Games that has been pursuing Apple in jurisdictions worldwide over the rules and fees it imposes on the iPhone.

In a case brought by Spotify, the EU this month hit Apple with a 1.8-billion-euro ($1.9 billion) fine for preventing European users from accessing information about alternative, cheaper music streaming services.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

A group of eminent Indian-Americans in Silicon Valley has held a special meeting with senior officials of the Department of Justice, FBI and police and told that the US soil is being used for terrorist activities against India.

The group held the meeting with senior officials of the Department of Justice, FBI and local police this week on increasing hate crimes against Hindus in California.

During the meeting, Indian-Americans expressed their displeasure and dissatisfaction that the law enforcement agencies in the US have not been able to take any action against those who are espousing terrorism activities in India, according to multiple persons present in the meeting.

The meeting to address the challenging issue of the rise in hate crimes against Hindu and Jain places of worship was held at the initiative of community leader Ajai Jain Bhutoria. It was attended by about two dozen eminent Indian-Americans.

Vincent Plair and Harpreet Singh Mokha from the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service along with FBI officials and those from the police departments of San Francisco, Milpitas, Freemont and Newark attended the meeting.

The sudden increase in hate crimes against Indian-Americans in general and the Hindus in particular is causing a lot of fear and anxiety in the community, said the Indian-Americans after the meeting which was closed to the press.

There is a fear in the community right now. The Khalistan people park trucks outside schools, and Indian grocery stores and intimidate young Indian-Americans.

Several community members expressed their anger that the law enforcement agencies have not been able to take any action against those people, including those who tried to burn the Indian consulate in San Francisco, and are openly threatening Indian diplomats and giving open calls for terrorist incidents in India.

Some of the members present in the meeting told Press Trust of India that senior law enforcement officials said that they were not aware of the Khalistan movement in the US and wanted the Indian Americans to help them raise awareness about these terrorist groups in the US. They also said that they have not been able to take action because of a lack of resources and funds and that they have other top priorities.

This meeting was a crucial moment as we united to confront the recent surge in hate crimes targeting Hindu places of worship. I brought together Indian community leaders, DOJ, FBI, and law enforcement officials from Milpitas, SF, Fremont, and Newark. In the last four months, over 11 temples in the Bay Area alone have been attacked, vandalised, and defaced with hateful graffiti. The fear in our community is palpable, but our collective resolve is stronger than ever,” Mr Bhutoria said.

“We delved into safeguarding places of worship and tackling hate crimes, notably those involving Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) Khalistani supporters targeting Hindu Temples, displaying disturbing banners in front of schools and corporate establishments. In our discourse, we explored the prospect of organising a Protecting all Places of Worship Forum (PPOW) with the DOJ,” said Sikh leader Sukhi Chahal.

Mr Chahal said he personally underscored the significance of addressing the provocative and threatening video messages from SFJ pro-Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu.

“I urged FBI and DOJ officials to earnestly consider the potential repercussions of Mr Pannu’s statements on peace, harmony, and India-US relations. It is paramount that we collectively work to mitigate the impact of such hateful messages, which have the potential to disturb societal tranquillity and radicalise the youth,” he said.

Following the meeting, it was agreed that a working group will be formed under the guidance of the US Department of Justice that will actively pursue safety measures at places of worship and systemic reporting of any unwanted act.

The working group would have representations from various sections of the Indian community.

The community leaders expressed concerns that the police were not of much help to them in either addressing this increasing fear or stopping terror activities from the US against India.

When pressed on the issue of Khalistan, the law enforcement officials said that they don’t understand the context and they need to be educated on this matter.

One of the Indian Americans told the FBI that the Khalistan leaders are openly threatening to blow up Air India planes and they openly carry messages around targeting Hindus.

Another Indian-American said that the FBI is not contradicting the claims by some of the Khalistan leaders that the FBI is supporting them, one of the participants said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)