Apple said the US government’s antitrust lawsuit accusing the tech giant of monopolizing the smartphone market has “no basis in reality” and should be thrown out by a federal judge. In a court filing, Apple rejected claims that it has a monopoly and said it is not obligated to give third-party software developers more access to iPhones than they already have.
Apple’s statement also said that the company itself sets the conditions for access to its own platform and technologies, without interfering or restricting third parties in terms of working with the technology giant’s competitors in the smartphone market. These actions cannot be challenged under current US antitrust laws.
«”Apple faces intense competition from other smartphone makers, including Google and Samsung, around the world,” one of Apple’s lawyers said during a hearing in federal court in Newark, New Jersey this week.
It also noted that the statement of claim does not prove that Apple’s conduct caused harm to consumers, which is a key component of antitrust cases. “The government’s claims are implausible, including that Apple is deterring consumers from switching to Google or Samsung devices through its policies on super apps, cloud gaming, smart watches or anything else,” the company said in a statement.
Recall that in March of this year, the US Department of Justice and a group of attorneys general of several states filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of allegedly preventing competitors from accessing hardware and software functions in their devices. The lawsuit says Apple is using its market power and control over the iPhone app distribution process to stymie innovation that would make it easier for consumers to switch smartphones. The authors of the lawsuit claim that Apple refused to support cross-platform messaging applications, limited access to third-party digital wallets, blocked mobile streaming services, etc.
A motion to dismiss a claim is common in antitrust proceedings. However, this rarely works in cases where the government is the plaintiff. A hearing on Apple’s motion to dismiss the case will likely be held later this year.