The US Department of Justice is preparing to sue Apple Inc. on Thursday, accusing it of violating antitrust laws by blocking competitors’ access to hardware and software functions of the iPhone, informs Bloomberg. Against the backdrop of this news, Apple’s shares fell by 1.4% to $176.10 at the end of trading. By the close on Wednesday, they had fallen by 7.2%. The upcoming case will be the third instance in the last 14 years that the US Department of Justice has sued Apple for antitrust violations, but it’s the first case where the iPhone manufacturer is accused of unlawfully maintaining its d…