Apple asks judge to dismiss DOJ antitrust lawsuit

Apple is asking a federal judge to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 state attorneys general against the iPhone maker, which they allege maintains an illegal monopoly over the smartphone market.

The technology giant argued in a document filed on Thursday that it is not a monopolist and that its design choices have not had any anti-competitive effects on the market.

“Apple invested billions of dollars to create a revolutionary, cutting-edge product and to distinguish the iPhone in a highly competitive smartphone market through consumer-facing features,” the document says.

“This lawsuit is based on the false premise that the success of the iPhone came not from building a superior product that consumers trust and love, but through Apple’s intentional degradation of the iPhone to block supposed competitive threats,” it continues.

The DOJ sued Apple in March, accusing the company of maintaining a monopoly on the smartphone market by undermining apps, products and services that would make users less dependent on the iPhone and promote greater interoperability.

The agency alleges that the iPhone maker has stifled competition by imposing “a series of shape-shifting rules and restrictions in App Store guidelines and developer agreements” that allow it to “extract higher fees, impede innovation, offer a less secure or degraded user experience, and limit competitive alternatives.”

He pointed out Apple’s treatment of super apps, cloud streaming services, cross-platform messaging, non-Apple smartwatches and third-party digital wallets.

However, the tech giant argued on Thursday that it is not stopping customers from switching to competitors such as Google or Samsung.

“Users dissatisfied with Apple’s reasonable policies on third-party access can and do switch to competing devices where these limits do not exist,” Apple wrote in the document. “This disconnect between the allegedly exclusionary conduct and the absence of any harm in the smartphone market is fatal to the Government’s theory and requires dismissal.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story