Judge rules Apple must face antitrust lawsuit brought by the US DOJ

The US Department of Justice's antitrust lawsuit against Apple will progress. US District Judge Julien Neals of New Jersey denied the tech company's motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought over its "walled garden" approach to smartphone software. "We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will continue to vigorously fight it in court," a spokesperson from Apple said.

The DOJ and several states filed the lawsuit against Apple in March 2024. Their argument was that Apple had created a monopoly over app software. The suit claimed that Apple's restrictions and fees placed on developers, as well as its limits on third-party devices and services, were in violation of antitrust laws. Apple quickly responded with a rebuttal of all the claims made in the lawsuit. The company filed for a dismissal of the case in August.

Judge Neals' ruling in the US comes as Apple has also been facing down charges of anti-competitive behavior in the EU. It recently introduced a new App Store fee structure for its operations in the bloc in response to a ruling by the European Commission that it fell afoul of the Digital Markets Act.

Update, June 30, 2025, 4:52PM ET: Added comment from Apple.

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