The U.S. Department of Justice and 16 state and territory attorneys general claimed in a March lawsuit that Apple illegally monopolized the U.S. smartphone market. The government claims Apple violated the law by maintaining a closed iPhone ecosystem in pursuit of profits at the expense of consumers and innovation. The government cited several examples in its complaint, including allegedly suppressing message quality between competing platforms like iPhone and Android, and preventing third-party developers from creating competing digital wallets for iPhone with tap-to-pay capabilities.
Apple said in a new filing that the Justice Department’s argument “is based on the faulty premise that the iPhone’s success is achieved not by building a quality product that consumers trust and love, but by Apple deliberately lowering the iPhone’s performance to thwart alleged competitive threats. The company called the idea “outlandish” and said antitrust laws protect its ability to “design and control its own products” rather than cater to third-party developers.
Apple said it provides third-party developers “extremely broad” access to the iPhone platform “while also implementing reasonable restrictions to protect consumers.” In its complaint, Apple describes the relevant third-party developers as “well-capitalized social media companies, big banks, and global game developers, who are powerful competitors in their own right, and none of them are small upstarts.” Motives to protect the integrity or security of your iPhone.
Apple listed five main reasons why the court should dismiss the DOJ lawsuit:
Apple requested oral arguments to argue its motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Apple said if the government had its way, it would “harm innovation and potentially deprive consumers of the private, secure experience that sets iPhone apart from other products on the market.”
The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
