Apple Faces New Antitrust Suit Over Heart Rate Sensor

Reported by Reuters, Apple is facing an antitrust lawsuit from AliveCor yet again. The Silicon Valley company claims it is monopolizing the market in the US for heart rate monitoring apps. The company says Apple has “complete control” over the market for these health apps.

In an earlier suit, the privately held company accused Apple, whose market value exceeds US$2 trillion, of quietly “working in the background” to copy its ability to record an ECG on the Apple Watch, and to provide a separate app for heart-rate analysis.

According to US District Judge Jeffrey White, AliveCor could prove that Apple violated federal antitrust law. AliveCor Inc. runs the SmartRhythm app that alerts users to irregular heartbeats. It also sells the KardiaBand wristband that records ECGs, and has worked with various partners in developing technologies to detect a variety of conditions.

“AliveCor alleges that Apple made changes to the heart rate algorithm that made it effectively impossible for third parties to inform a user when to take an ECG,” claims White. “Plaintiff’s allegations plausibly establish that Apple’s conduct was anticompetitive.”

However, AliveCor’s separate claim that Apple has an illegal monopoly over ECG-capable wearable technology was dismissed. 

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