For more than a decade, Apple could do almost no wrong. The iPhone made it the world’s most valuable company. The App Store helped launch businesses such as Uber and Airbnb. And the company’s new products made it a player in health, Hollywood and finance.
十多年来，苹果几乎无往不利。iPhone使其成为世界上最有价值的公司。苹果应用商店帮助推出了优步和爱彼迎等企业。该公司的新产品使其成为健康、好莱坞和金融领域的参与者。
Now, the difficulties are piling up. The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday for giving its own products advantages that it deprived rivals of having. The suit is the latest in a series of actions brought against the company by regulators on four continents.
现在，困难越来越多。周四，美国司法部对苹果提起反垄断诉讼，指控它为自己的产品提供了竞争对手无法获得的优势。这起诉讼是四大洲监管机构对该公司提起的一系列诉讼中的最新一起。
The troubles are testing the resiliency of Apple’s brand and undermining its business dominance, even though Apple’s products remain popular and continue to power an extremely profitable business. The company reported $97 billion in profit last year on $386 billion in sales.
这些问题正在考验苹果品牌的韧性，并削弱其业务主导地位，尽管苹果的产品仍然很受欢迎，并继续为其利润丰厚的业务提供动力。该公司去年的销售额为3860亿美元，利润为970亿美元。
Here’s a look at the challenges ahead.
让我们来看看它在未来面临的挑战。
U.S. v. Apple
美国针对苹果
The Justice Department filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday that takes direct aim at the company’s most important business: the iPhone. The government argued in an 88-page lawsuit that Apple broke antitrust laws by preventing other companies from offering applications that compete with Apple products, like its digital wallet.
周四，美国司法部对苹果提起了全面反垄断诉讼，直接针对该公司最重要的业务：iPhone。政府在一份厚达88页的诉状中称，苹果公司阻止其他公司提供与苹果产品竞争的应用程序，如数字钱包，这违反了反垄断法。
The suit follows a yearslong investigation into Apple that focused on the ways that the company has controlled the user experience on iPhones and other devices to create what critics call an uneven playing field. It has granted its own products and services access to core features like its NFC chip and notification system that it denies rivals like PayPal and Garmin smartwatches.
这起诉讼是在对苹果公司长达数年的调查之后进行的，调查的重点是该公司控制iPhone和其他设备的用户体验方式，以创造批评者所称的不公平竞争环境。它允许自己的产品和服务使用其NFC芯片和通知系统等核心功能，却拒绝PayPal和佳明智能手表等竞争对手使用这些功能。
It could be months before the case goes to trial.
本案可能要过几个月才能进入审判阶段。
European Regulators v. Apple
欧洲监管机构针对苹果
On March 4, the European Commission fined Apple 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) for thwarting competition by preventing music streaming rivals from offering users promotions and subscription upgrades. Because Apple is the sole gatekeeper controlling developers’ access to iPhone customers, European regulators said that it wrote the rules for the App Store in ways that allowed Apple Music to offer benefits that it denied rivals like Spotify.
3月4日，欧盟委员会对苹果处以18亿欧元（19.5亿美元）的罚款，原因是苹果阻止音乐流媒体竞争对手向用户提供促销和订阅升级，从而阻碍了竞争。由于苹果是控制开发者访问iPhone用户的唯一看门人，欧洲监管机构表示，苹果为应用商店制定的规则，使Apple Music能够提供Spotify等竞争对手无法提供的好处。
“From now on, Apple will have to allow music streaming developers to communicate freely with their own users,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president who oversees competition policy. The size of the fine, she added, “reflects both Apple’s financial power and the harm that Apple’s conduct inflicted on millions of European users.”
“从现在开始，苹果必须允许音乐流媒体开发者与自己的用户自由交流，”欧盟委员会负责竞争政策的执行副主席玛格丽特·维斯塔格说。她还表示，罚款的数额“既反映了苹果的财务实力，也反映了苹果的行为对成百上千万欧洲用户造成的伤害”。
Since the fine was issued, Apple has delayed a request by Spotify to inform users of offers on its website, Spotify said. The European Commission has said that Apple could face additional fines if it fails to comply with orders.
Spotify表示，自罚款下达以来，苹果推迟了Spotify在其网站上通知用户优惠信息的要求。欧盟委员会表示，如果苹果不遵守命令，可能会面临额外的罚款。
South Korea and the Netherlands v. Apple
韩国和荷兰针对苹果
Apple is facing fines from regulators in the Netherlands and South Korea, as well.
苹果还面临荷兰和韩国监管机构的罚款。
In 2021, Dutch regulators ruled that Apple violated competition laws in the dating app market by preventing services such as Tinder from using payment systems other than the one Apple provides. Rather than allow other payment systems to collect that money, Apple reduced its commission to 27 percent on the price paid per user, from its usual rate of 30 percent. But Dutch regulators said that move didn’t comply with the law and last year fined Apple €50 million ($53 million).
2021年，荷兰监管机构裁定，苹果阻止Tinder等服务使用苹果公司以外的其他支付系统，这违反了约会应用市场的竞争法。苹果不允许其他支付系统来收取这笔钱，而是将每位用户支付价格的佣金从通常的30%降至27%。但荷兰监管机构表示，此举不符合法律规定，并于去年对苹果处以5000万欧元（5300万美元）的罚款。
A similar situation is playing out in South Korea, where lawmakers were among the first in the world to respond to developer complaints about App Store commissions by passing legislation to force Apple to allow alternative payment systems. Apple relaxed its requirement to 26 percent. The country’s telecommunications regulator said it might fine Apple $15.4 million for “unfair practices.”
韩国也出现了类似的情况，该国的立法者是世界上最早对开发者有关应用商店佣金的投诉做出回应的国家之一，他们通过立法，迫使苹果允许使用其他支付系统。苹果将佣金要求放宽到了26%。该国电信监管机构表示，可能会以“不公平做法”为由，对苹果处以1540万美元的罚款。
Apple said that it disagreed with the findings of Dutch and South Korean regulators. It is appealing the Dutch fine and awaiting the results of a South Korean investigation.
苹果公司表示，它不同意荷兰和韩国监管机构的调查结果。该公司正在对荷兰的罚款提出上诉，并等待韩国的调查结果。
Japan, Australia and Britain v. Apple
日本、澳大利亚和英国针对苹果
Several other countries are exploring legislation or regulation that could force Apple to loosen its grip, including Japan, Australia and Britain. The regulatory changes they are discussing could require Apple to offer alternative payment options and reduce its commissions. Having watched how Apple has complied with similar laws elsewhere, the lawmakers could choose to be more prescriptive in their rule making.
包括日本、澳大利亚和英国在内的其他几个国家正在研究可能迫使苹果放松控制的立法或监管。他们正在讨论的监管改革可能会要求苹果提供其他支付方式，并降低佣金。在观察了苹果在其他地方遵守类似法律的情况之后，这些国家的立法者可以选择在制定规则时更具规范性。
The rules would be the latest to fracture what was once a single App Store into a jumble of digital shops across national borders.
这些规则将是把曾经单一的苹果应用商店拆分为数个跨越国界的数字商店举措中的最新一例。
China v. Apple
中国针对苹果
Last fall, China began telling employees of government agencies not to use iPhones for work. The authorities made no public pronouncements beyond pointing out that there were “media reports” about security flaws in iPhones. But the directive has rippled through the country’s smartphone market.
去年秋天，中国开始要求政府工作人员不要在工作中使用iPhone。当局没有发表公开声明，只是指出有“媒体报道”，iPhone存在安全漏洞。但该指令已经在该国的智能手机市场产生了影响。
Sales of iPhones in China fell 24 percent in the first six weeks of the year, according to Counterpoint Research, which tracks the smartphone industry. At the same time sales of Huawei, once China’s largest smartphone maker, surged 64 percent behind the introduction of a new phone with 5G wireless capabilities.
据追踪智能手机行业的Counterpoint Research公司，今年前六周，iPhone在中国的销量下降了24%。与此同时，曾经是中国最大智能手机制造商的华为由于推出了一款具有5G无线功能的新手机，销售额飙升了64%。
Epic v. Apple
Epic诉苹果
Apple largely triumphed over Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, after the video game company sued Apple in 2020 over the App Store. But a federal judge struck a serious blow against Apple’s control of the App Store, ruling that it violated California’s competition laws by preventing app makers from providing alternative ways to pay for services.
视频游戏公司Epic Games于2020年就应用商店起诉苹果公司，随后苹果在很大程度上战胜了这一《堡垒之夜》游戏的开发商。但一名联邦法官对苹果控制应用商店的行为进行了严重打击，裁定苹果阻止应用程序开发商提供其他支付服务的方式，违反了加州的竞争法。
After the Supreme Court decided not to take up the case, Apple said that it would comply with the ruling just as it has complied in the Netherlands: by cutting its commission to 27 percent for developers who use alternative payment options.
在最高法院决定不受理此案后，苹果表示，它将像在荷兰那样遵守裁决：将使用其他付费方式的开发者的佣金降至27%。
Last week, Epic filed a motion in court challenging Apple’s compliance, saying that the new fees and rules subvert the judge’s order. Meta and Microsoft have filed a brief in support of Epic, setting the table for the court to have to rule again on whether Apple is violating California law.
上周，Epic向法院提出动议，质疑苹果的合规行为，称新的费用和规定颠覆了法官的命令。Meta平台公司和微软提交了支持Epic的诉状，为法院再次裁决苹果是否违反加州法律奠定了基础。
Developers v. Apple
开发者针对苹果
Before European regulators began enforcing a new competition law to give customers more choice this month, app makers were complaining that Apple’s response to the law defied the rules. The company was supposed to open the iPhone to alternative app stores and payment systems, but it added those capabilities alongside new commissions and requirements.
在欧洲监管机构本月开始执行一项新的竞争法，为消费者提供更多选择之前，应用程序开发商一直在抱怨苹果对这项法律的回应违反了规则。该公司本应向其他应用商店和支付系统开放iPhone，但它在增加这些功能的同时，还增加了新的佣金和要求。
On Monday, developers met with Apple in Europe and questioned how the fees complied with the law, which has several “free of charge” provisions. Apple has insisted that its policies are consistent with the new rules.
周一，开发者在欧洲与苹果公司会面，质疑这些收费是否符合该法律，该法律有几项“免费”条款。苹果坚称其政策与新规定是一致的。
European regulators could open a formal investigation into Apple’s plans. The process could set up a lengthy legal battle that could force Apple to change or risk fines up to 10 percent of its global annual revenue, which was nearly $400 billion last year.
欧洲监管机构可能会对苹果的方案展开正式调查。这个过程可能会引发一场漫长的法律战，可能会迫使苹果做出改变，否则将面临高达其全球年收入10%的罚款。苹果去年的全球年收入接近4000亿美元。
Wall Street v. Apple
华尔街针对苹果
Apple’s investors are clamoring for it to jump into the world of generative artificial intelligence. The technology, which can answer questions, create images and write code, has been heralded for its potential to create trillions of dollars in economic value.
苹果的投资者强烈要求苹果进入可生成人工智能领域。这项技术可以回答问题、创建图像和编写代码，因其有望创造数万亿美元的经济价值而收到追捧。
But at a time when peers such as Microsoft and Google are beginning to build generative A.I. businesses, Apple has yet to introduce a product. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has assured investors that something is coming later this year. The company has held talks with Google about adding its A.I. model called Gemini to iPhones.
但在微软和谷歌等同行开始建立可生成人工智能业务的时候，苹果还没有推出任何产品。苹果首席执行官蒂姆·库克向投资者保证，今年晚些时候会有新产品推出。该公司已与谷歌进行谈判，讨论将谷歌名为Gemini的人工智能模型添加到iPhone上。
Investors have sent shares of Apple down more than 3.75 percent this year. At the same time, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which is chock-full of tech stocks, has risen nearly 11 percent.
今年以来，投资者已使苹果的股价下跌了3.75%以上。与此同时，充斥着科技股的纳斯达克综合指数上涨了近11%。
Tripp Mickle驻旧金山，为《纽约时报》报道苹果和硅谷。他关注的苹果相关议题包括产品发布、制造问题和政治挑战。他还撰写了有关整个科技行业趋势的文章，包括裁员、生成式人工智能和机器人出租车。
翻译：晋其角
