<p>Apple on Thursday asked a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit by federal and state antitrust regulators accusing it of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market, saying the case would have a judge redesign its popular iPhone.</p><p>The Justice Department, 19 states and Washington, D C, accuse Apple of an illegal monopoly on smartphones maintained by imposing contractual restrictions on, and withholding critical access from, developers.</p><p>In a motion filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, Apple argued that putting reasonable limitations on third-party developers' access to its technology did not amount to anti-competitive behavior, and forcing it to share technology with competitors would chill innovation.</p>.Apple rolls out major iOS 17.6 update with security patch to iPhones. <p>"Endorsing such a theory would require courts to oversee product-design and policy choices in dynamic technical markets," Apple said.</p><p>The lawsuit filed in March takes aim at Apple's restrictions and fees on app developers, and technical roadblocks to third-party devices and services -- such as smart watches, digital wallets and messaging services -- that would compete with its own.</p><p>The Justice Department says that by hampering interoperability between the iPhone and third-party apps and devices, Apple locks users into its own products and harms competition in the market.</p><p>But Apple argued that the lawsuit fails to raise any evidence that its practices harm competition or consumers, who it says plausibly switch to a competitor if they dislike what iPhone features.</p><p>US District Judge Julien Neals, who is overseeing the case, will receive a response from the government and a reply from Apple before deciding the motion later this year.</p><p>The case is one of five blockbuster monopoly cases pending against Big Tech companies.</p><p>Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Amazon.com are facing lawsuits by antitrust enforcers alleging they illegally maintain monopolies, and Alphabet's Google is facing two such lawsuits. </p>
<p>Apple on Thursday asked a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit by federal and state antitrust regulators accusing it of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market, saying the case would have a judge redesign its popular iPhone.</p><p>The Justice Department, 19 states and Washington, D C, accuse Apple of an illegal monopoly on smartphones maintained by imposing contractual restrictions on, and withholding critical access from, developers.</p><p>In a motion filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, Apple argued that putting reasonable limitations on third-party developers' access to its technology did not amount to anti-competitive behavior, and forcing it to share technology with competitors would chill innovation.</p>.Apple rolls out major iOS 17.6 update with security patch to iPhones. <p>"Endorsing such a theory would require courts to oversee product-design and policy choices in dynamic technical markets," Apple said.</p><p>The lawsuit filed in March takes aim at Apple's restrictions and fees on app developers, and technical roadblocks to third-party devices and services -- such as smart watches, digital wallets and messaging services -- that would compete with its own.</p><p>The Justice Department says that by hampering interoperability between the iPhone and third-party apps and devices, Apple locks users into its own products and harms competition in the market.</p><p>But Apple argued that the lawsuit fails to raise any evidence that its practices harm competition or consumers, who it says plausibly switch to a competitor if they dislike what iPhone features.</p><p>US District Judge Julien Neals, who is overseeing the case, will receive a response from the government and a reply from Apple before deciding the motion later this year.</p><p>The case is one of five blockbuster monopoly cases pending against Big Tech companies.</p><p>Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Amazon.com are facing lawsuits by antitrust enforcers alleging they illegally maintain monopolies, and Alphabet's Google is facing two such lawsuits. </p>