The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to file a lawsuit against Apple on charges of violating antitrust laws by restricting competitors' access to iPhone hardware and software. This was reported by Bloomberg.

This is the third time in the last 14 years that the US Department of Justice has sued Apple for violating antitrust laws, but for the first time the iPhone manufacturer is accused of illegally maintaining its dominant position.

It is noted that Apple is also under close scrutiny by antitrust authorities in Europe for anticompetitive behavior.

In March, the company was fined more than €1.8 billion in the EU for abusing its dominant position in the market of music streaming services among iPhone and iPad users through its App Store.

Apple has appealed the fine and said that regulators could not find any "credible evidence of consumer harm".

Meanwhile, the company could face a full-scale investigation under the EU's new big tech rules - the Digital Markets Act - which came into effect earlier this month.

Competitors have been criticizing the new App Store rules that came into effect in Europe, complaining that the changes could lead to higher prices for developers. Fines for non-compliance with the new EU rules can be severe - up to 10% of a company's annual global revenue or up to 20% for repeated violations.

On the back of this news, Apple shares fell 1.4% to $176.10. By the time the stock exchanges closed on March 20, they had fallen another 7.2%.