U.S. Blames Apple in E-Books Trial

We loved you and you betrayed us, Apple. In a Justice Department–led trail investigating claims that Apple Inc. conspired with publishers to hike up prices on e-books, a U.S. government lawyer said the tech giant cost customers “hundreds of millions of dollars.” The government filed suit against Apple, accusing the company of working with five of the largest U.S. publishing houses to unseat Amazon by illegally raising e-book costs. The publishers got out of going to trial by agreeing to stop the ban on wholesale discounts and pay back $164 million to help out consumers. Apple faces an order to block similar conduct, but it could also be tried for damages in 33 states.