Apple loses bid to dismiss US smartphone monopoly case

(Reuters) -Apple must face the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit accusing the iPhone maker of unlawfully dominating the U.S. smartphone market, a judge ruled on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Julien Neals in Newark, New Jersey, denied Apple's motion to dismiss the lawsuit accusing the company of using restrictions on third-party app and device developers to keep users from switching to competitors and unlawfully dominate the market.

The decision would allow the case to go forward in what could be a years-long fight for Apple against enforcers' attempt to lower what they say are barriers to competition with Apple's iPhone.

Sales of the world's most popular smartphone totaled $201 billion in 2024. Apple introduced a new budget model iPhone in February with enhanced features priced at $170 more than its predecessor.

The lawsuit filed in March 2024 focuses on 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.

DOJ, along with several states and Washington, D.C., say the practices destroy competition and Apple should be blocked from continuing them.

Apple had argued that its limitations on third-party developers' access to its technology were reasonable, and that forcing it to share technology with competitors would chill innovation.

The case is one of a series of U.S. antitrust cases against Big Tech companies brought during the Biden and first Trump administrations.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Amazon.com are facing lawsuits by antitrust enforcers alleging they illegally maintain monopolies, and Alphabet's is facing two such lawsuits.  

(Reporting by Jody Godoy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)