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· 2 minute read
Apple wants the DOJ to play ball in its own court
The DOJ spent years threatening to bring antitrust charges against Apple, and now that it finally has, the US government seems incapable of participating in its own case.
The United States Department of Justice brought antitrust claims against Apple in June 2024. After a year of appeals, the case was pushed into going forward.
In the months since, things have been at a standstill as no one seems ready to budge on discovery requests. The DOJ complained of Apple refusing document requests in September, then Apple complained similarly about Samsung in April, and now a joint filing viewed by AppleInsider shows more pointing fingers.
In this instance, it’s Apple accusing the United States government and the 14 agencies being subpoenaed of halting the case.
From the filing:
The DOJ’s arguments can be whittled down to “it’s too hard to provide these documents that have little relevance anyway.” It’s not a very good argument when Apple’s requests appear relevant.
If the United States is suing Apple on antitrust grounds, then how the agencies view Apple within the US government has some relevance. They choose iPhones for government use for a reason, and Apple believes, rightly, that those reasons would contradict the grounds of the antitrust case.
I’m not a lawyer, but I would wager that the US government’s refusal here is an obvious attempt to avoid looking foolish. The case is very thin as it is, and federal agencies rely on Apple’s technology because of its closed and secure nature.
As a reminder, here’s Apple’s rebuttal against the five claims made by the DOJ:
These were barely credible claims when they were first made by the DOJ in 2024, but they’re less so today. Even the smartwatch one has changed with iOS 26.3 thanks to notification forwarding to third-party smartwatches.
If this becomes a debate of “yeah, Apple does these things but not in a way we like,” I doubt it’ll make it very far. However, since everyone involved is dragging their feet through discovery, including Apple, Samsung, and now the US government, I have no doubt we’ll be talking about this case for years to come.
Wesley was in the US Navy for ten years, serving as a carrier-based nuclear trained electrician, then jumped careers in 2019. Today, he is Assistant Editor, Podcast Cohost, SEO Specialist, and Social Media Manager for…
All these claims lean on one supposition that any company or person has the right to demand Apple do whatever these people want, regardless of what these people could do to destroy the iPhone’s security.
