Overview
- The parties filed a joint discovery dispute letter on May 25 asking the U.S. District Court in New Jersey to resolve whether Apple can obtain records from 14 federal agencies for its defense in the DOJ’s 2024 antitrust case.
- Apple says the agencies’ documents on how they evaluate and buy phones, their security and privacy assessments, market data and participation in Apple’s developer program could undercut the government’s claim that Apple unlawfully preserves a smartphone monopoly.
- The U.S. government argues the subpoenaed agencies include Intelligence Community bodies that do not regulate consumer smartphones, so responsive material is at best tangential and searches would be extraordinarily burdensome.
- The government also warns that many likely-responsive records could be privileged or classified, and it asks the court to deny production or quash the subpoenas rather than force agencies to search sensitive systems.
- The dispute formalizes a months-long discovery impasse that is stalling progress in the antitrust case and could prolong the litigation while the judge decides whether Apple may access government files.