Apple asks a US court to dismiss the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit

Apple asked a US court to dismiss the complaint filed by the Department of Justice and 15 other states.

The court is expected to respond to Apple’s letter within the next 7 days.

In March 2024, a lawsuit was filed against Apple, accusing it of monopolizing the smartphone industry and intentionally harming smaller companies.

On Tuesday (May 21), Apple announced that it had asked a US judge to dismiss the case brought against it by the Department of Justice (DoJ) and 15 other states in March 2024.

The infamous “monopoly” lawsuit claimed that the iPhone maker was monopolizing the smartphone market and intentionally harming the growth of smaller rivals.

Addressing the allegations, Apple has already sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Julien X Neals, stating that the company’s approach is far from monopolistic and that it faces fierce competition from other companies.

The lawsuit also claims that Apple is raising prices. To this the company responded by saying that it indeed had the ability to “to charge supra-competitive prices or limit production in alleged smartphone markets” However, she emphasized that this was due to the higher quality of the products.

The court is expected to respond to Apple’s letter within 7 days.

Another reason Apple cited as a reason for dismissing the lawsuit is that the whole case is based on the new “antitrust liability” which no court has ever recognized. In short, the company says this case is without merit.

What is a “monopoly” lawsuit about?

In March this year, the Department of Justice accused Apple of a number of things, including overcharging and making the highest profits compared to its competitors, imposing various hidden fees on business partners, and more.

Here are some of the most serious allegations against Apple and its business strategy:

That Apple is intentionally making it difficult for third-party smartwatches to connect to Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad. In some way, Apple forces users to buy Apple smartwatches.

The company was also accused of, among others, intentionally hurting music streaming apps such as Spotify. In fact, Apple is facing a €500 million fine stemming from a complaint filed by Spotify in 2019 that accused Apple of restricting music companies from notifying Apple users about cheaper subscriptions outside the Apple App Store.

Speaking of the Apple App Store, Third-party developers are subject to much stricter regulationswhich are also constructed in a way that makes it difficult for them to leave the platform.

Staying in the App Store is also not a good alternative, because then they are exposed higher platform fees, insufficient resources and poor security, which in turn affects user convenience. However, in January this year, Apple lowered fees in the App Store – a truly welcome change.

Apple is complicating the process of using its tap-and-pay technology for other banks, forcing users to switch to Apple Pay. With this one simple trick, the company allegedly made billions in processing fees.

Apple was also accused fueling the Apple vs Android debate. For example, Apple displays messages sent by Android in a green bubble. This clearly distinguishes Android from iOS, and over time, Apple began to use it to instill the false social prestige of owning an Apple device instead of an Android device.

It’s worth noting that Apple’s dissatisfaction with these accusations is nothing new. The company clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with the lawsuit when it was filed.

Apple said the case undermines everything that makes Apple unique in a fierce market. It also said that if authorities succeed in cracking down on Apple’s modus operandi, it would forever change the quality of service Apple can provide to its users.

Additionally, the company also warned that this lawsuit would pave the way for too much government control over design rights, which will ultimately stifle innovation in the future.

In March, when the lawsuit was first filed, Apple promised that if necessary, it would go to court and defend itself with all its might. It seems that the company is keeping its word. Stay tuned for further updates—I will keep you informed when the US court issues a response to Apple’s request for relief.

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