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Apple Seeks to Dismiss U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Lawsuit

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In March, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company has an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market with the iPhone and the device's locked-down ecosystem.

Apple vs DOJ Feature
The lawsuit accuses Apple of broad anticompetitive conduct that affects everything from web browsers and messaging to apps and digital payments. According to the DOJ, Apple has made it harder for consumers to switch between smartphone platforms, blocked the development of cloud-based streaming apps, made the cross-platform messaging experience worse, limited the functionality of third-party smartwatches paired to the iPhone, prevented third-party apps from offering tap-to-pay functionality, and more.

Some of Apple's policy changes this year have already negated some of these claims. In January, the company started allowing cloud-based game streaming apps on the App Store worldwide. And in August, it opened up the iPhone's NFC chip used by Apple Pay to third-party developers in the U.S. and select other countries.

In a New Jersey federal court on Wednesday, lawyers representing Apple argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed, claiming that the DOJ has failed to plausibly allege that the company has monopoly power in the smartphone market and that consumers were harmed. Judge Julien Neals said that he hopes to make a ruling by January.

"We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it," said Apple, when the lawsuit was filed earlier this year.

A motion to dismiss is a fairly common step in lawsuits, and it is likely that the case will proceed to trial, although some of the claims could potentially be amended or dismissed. In all likelihood, the U.S. v. Apple trial will drag on for years to come.

Read our U.S. v. Apple guide for more details about the lawsuit.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Apple vs. DoJ Guide

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Top Rated Comments

M
mystery hill
17 months ago
This is getting ridiculous. Apple should pull out of the U.S.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
Ctrlos
17 months ago
Apple don't have a monopoly on tap-to-pay; you can still use innumerable plastic alternatives from any provider you want. As customers there has been zero call for an alternative to Apple Pay and for good reason.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DominikHoffmann Avatar
DominikHoffmann
17 months ago
Look at my Avatar. I am all for free enterprise. However, what if iPhone users like Apple the way it is? I do have alternatives to my iPhone. I can buy an Android phone. To how many aspects of a competitor’s product should the Government be able to reduce the competitive advantage of one over the other? Should the Government be able to take away the ability for Apple have the competitive advantage because of…

* iMessage,
* the exclusive ability to run iOS,
* the exclusive integration with certain features of other Apple products (Macs, AirPods, etc.), or
* the security that Apple’s walled garden provides?

Where do we draw the line? The extreme would be to force Apple or a company to which Apple divests the iPhone to become a pure hardware company. It would turn all smart phones into a commodity, like they have become on the Android side of things. What does it matter, whether my phone is made by Samsung or LG?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rp2011 Avatar
rp2011
17 months ago
Yes the lawsuit is ridiculous. People forget or like to pretend they do not remember the history of the iPhone. Apple forged into an already saturated and highly competitive wireless phone market where it was laughed off by their competition who insisted they liked their strategy better. Apple's devices were more expensive and didn't have keyboards. It was a paradigm shift that offered an easier and better experience to users at the time, as were most of their products with the Mac. And that's the problem right there: the established players did not see a reason to change. It's not Apple that forced me to switch from a Blackberry. Nor is anyone forcing anyone to stay on Android or any other platform. People like the experience and if and when they don't they can leave. Consumers have always had plenty of choice with wireless phones and the ecosystem that comes with any product they choose. It's called differentiation. Choice. The DOJ and European regulators are trying to force homogeneity where Apple has been offering choice.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DominikHoffmann Avatar
DominikHoffmann
17 months ago
Maybe the tack to take with the incoming administration would be that Apple’s unique security model is predicated on its walled garden and that it poses a strategic advantage in the already in full swing cyber World War III. A strategic advantage that must not be weakened.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spazzcat Avatar
spazzcat
17 months ago

This is getting ridiculous. Apple should pull out of the U.S.
This lawsuit is going nowhere, the new administration will kill it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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