Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
The Justice's Departments antitrust lawsuit against Apple threatens the features that make the iPhone popular and secure, the company argued in a filing this week.
Why it matters: More than a year after the DOJ filed suit against Apple alleging a smartphone monopoly, the case is moving into the next phase with Apple ready to fight.
- Apple's response comes as personnel drama brews at the DOJ, and a decision on remedies in the U.S. vs. Google case is expected imminently.
- The features in DOJ's complaint include limiting digital wallets, "diminishing the functionality" of non-Apple smartwatches and making cross-platform messaging worse.
Driving the news: DOJ's original complaint was about five design choices it said created a "monopoly playbook" to shut out competitive threats and keep people from switching to other products.
What they're saying: "The complaint's theories, if vindicated, would reduce consumer choice and erode competition. The lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent, empowering the government to take a heavy hand in designing people's technology," the response reads.
- "Apple has made careful and deliberate decisions in each of those five areas, all of which are focused on optimizing customer experience and not destroying competitors or making it more difficult for customers to buy another smartphone if they so choose."
- "DOJ posits Apple should have made other choices, but that is not an antitrust violation and, in fact, would restrict Apple's ability to compete and give users the differentiated products they value."
What's next: The case moves into the discovery phase.
