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Apple asks judge to dismiss antitrust case

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Translate from : Apple beder dommer afvise antitrust-sag
Apple asks judge to dismiss charges of illegal monopolization of smartphone market. The case could result in the redesign of the iPhone.
By Maria
2 aug. 2024 08:31 am
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Apple on Thursday asked a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit by federal and state antitrust regulators accusing it of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market and arguing that the lawsuit would force the judge to redesign its popular iPhone.

The Department of Justice, 19 states and Washington DC accuse Apple of having an illegal monopoly on smartphones, maintained by imposing contractual restrictions and withholding critical access from developers. In a petition filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, Apple argued that placing reasonable restrictions on third-party developers' access to its technology did not constitute anti-competitive conduct and that forcing them to share technology with competitors would stifle innovation .

"Upholding such a theory would require the court to overlook product design and policy choices in dynamic technical markets," Apple said. The lawsuit, filed in March, takes aim at Apple's restrictions and fees on app developers and technical blocks on third-party devices and services — such as smartwatches, digital wallets and messaging services — that would compete with its own.

The Justice Department claims that by preventing interoperability between the iPhone and third-party apps and devices, Apple is locking users into its own products and harming competition in the marketplace. But Apple argued that the lawsuit presents no evidence that its practices harm competition or consumers, who it says will switch to a competitor if they don't like iPhone features.

U.S. District Judge Julien Neals, who is hearing the case, will receive a response from the government and a response from Apple before ruling later this year. The case is one of five blockbuster monopoly cases pending against Big Tech companies.

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