The legal battle between the US Department of Justice and Apple is heating up over access to government records. The DOJ has formally asked the court to reconsider a recent ruling that granted the technology giant permission to request documents from 14 federal agencies. This dispute is a key part of the discovery process in the government’s ongoing 2024 antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.
Apple believes government documents will prove its products are superior
Earlier this month, a specially appointed judge sided with Apple, allowing the company to seek records detailing how federal agencies evaluate and purchase smartphones and wearables. The tech brand argues that these internal documents will show that government offices actively choose its devices for their strong privacy and security features. If proven, this could significantly undermine the government’s central claim that the company maintains its market position through illegal anticompetitive restrictions.
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The DOJ originally tried to block the request, arguing that the 14 targeted agencies are not involved in the antitrust lawsuit and do not regulate the smartphone market. The government also raised concerns that handing over the requested data would be an extreme burden and could risk exposing highly classified or sensitive national security information. However, the special discovery master found the requests relevant and ruled that the government had not provided enough evidence to support its broad objections.
The DOJ argues the court applied the wrong legal standards
Not ready to concede, the DOJ filed a new motion asking the judge to reverse the decision. The new filing is backed by declarations from officials across several federal offices, though notably absent are statements from the Commerce Department and the FTC. The government argues that the court made a mistake by treating the 14 agencies as direct parties to the lawsuit.
According to the DOJ, just because the United States files a case does not automatically make every federal agency a party subject to ordinary discovery rules. The government insists that the court must assess the specific relationship of each agency to the case.
The DOJ claims the previous ruling failed to perform this specific assessment, which would have shown that these non-party agencies are entitled to greater protection from massive data requests.
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