Apple fights to keep DOJ antitrust suit from reaching trial
Apple urged a federal judge to dismiss the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against it, saying the government’s complaint includes speculative arguments and the government doesn’t plausibly argue it has monopoly power.
“The court is allowed to use common sense,” countered DOJ counsel Jonathan Lasken at a hearing in New Jersey on Wednesday. “We’re here today based on the idea that it’s not plausible that [Apple] has monopoly power, but instead is at the mercy of supposed global behemoths who are a fraction of its size.”
The government and more than a dozen states sued Apple earlier this year for maintaining an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market, ultimately driving up prices and locking consumers into its ecosystem. It pointed to five examples of its alleged anticompetitive conduct, including degrading message quality between iPhones and Android phones and limiting third-party smartwatch functionality with the iPhone.
Apple has argued the case against it is overly speculative and amounts to a “judicial redesign” of the iPhone. It’s sought to downplay its own influence, saying the government doesn’t allege a large enough smartphone market share to add up to monopoly power. It characterizes the third-party developers who claim they’ve been harmed as “well-capitalized social media companies, big banks, and global gaming developers.”
US District Court Judge Julien Xavier Neals will now have to decide whether the DOJ’s case against Apple can proceed to a trial in its current form, or whether some — or all — claims should be thrown out. He said he hopes to make that decision by January, according to Bloomberg.
The wildcard, of course, is that a new administration will soon take over, with President-elect Donald Trump’s DOJ continuing the case argued by the agency under President Joe Biden. But Trump and likely members of his administration have dubbed “Big Tech” a persistent enemy, and Trump’s DOJ brought suits against other tech companies in his first term — so Apple likely can’t count on a reprieve.
Apple urged a federal judge to dismiss the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against it, saying the government’s complaint includes speculative arguments and the government doesn’t plausibly argue it has monopoly power. “The court is allowed to use common sense,” countered DOJ counsel Jonathan Lasken at a hearing in New…
Recent Posts
- How to watch the World Cup Final ‘66 In Colour for *FREE*
- ‘Elon Musk said he thinks humanoid robots will be in many homes in three years, and I agree with him.’ I sat down with Jake Dyson to hear his predictions for AI and robotics in your home — and why you shouldn’t throw out your stick vac just yet
- LaCie 8big Pro5 review: I tested LaCie’s huge 256TB DAS solution, and it’s ideal for 8K video editing but it comes with a price tag that’s just as big
- EA’s Star Wars Zero Company drops August 27
- Amazon Prime members can already get $135 in free perks ahead of Prime Day 2026 — here are 7 freebies to claim right now
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023