U.S. Department of Justice joins Apple ebook pricing investigation

Just a couple days after European antitrust regulators launched an investigation into allegations of ebook price fixing among Apple and several major book publishers, the US Department of Justice is now joining the fray. Computerworld reports that DOJ acting antitrust chief Sharis Pozen is "investigating ebook industry practices."

While Pozen provided no additional information and didn't specifically name Apple, the pattern so far has been decidedly unfavorable to Apple and its iBookstore. A class action lawsuit alleging price fixing was filed in August, the European Commission has launched antitrust probes, and two US state Attorneys General have already begun their own investigations targeting Apple's ebook pricing.

The class action suit has alleged that Apple and several major book publishers have conspired to drive up ebook prices in order to prevent Amazon from underselling the iBookstore.