The DOJ has won a temporary pause on an order requiring it to respond to Apple’s requests for documents from 14 federal agencies, while the government appeals the ruling in its ongoing antitrust case against the company. Here are the details.
A few weeks ago, Special Master Judge Jose Linares sided with Apple in its effort to obtain documents from 14 federal agencies as part of the ongoing antitrust case brought against the company by the DOJ.
In a nutshell, Apple is seeking the documents to examine how these agencies evaluate privacy and security when setting smartphone policies and making purchasing decisions.
The company argues that the records could support its case that some of the practices challenged by the DOJ are legitimate product differentiators and security safeguards, rather than anticompetitive restrictions.
Specifically, Apple is seeking documents from these agencies:
When Judge Linares sided with Apple, the DOJ asked him to reconsider the decision. After Linares rejected that request, the DOJ appealed his ruling to District Judge Julien Neals, and asked Linares to pause the discovery order while that appeal is considered.
In a decision issued earlier today, Judge Linares granted the DOJ’s bid to pause the discovery order while District Judge Julien Neals considers the government’s appeal over whether it can be required to respond to Apple’s discovery requests for documents.
Judge Linares said that although he agrees with Apple that the DOJ faces “an uphill battle” in succeeding on its appeal, that alone wasn’t enough to deny the government’s request for a stay.
He also agreed with the DOJ’s argument that requiring the 14 agencies to undertake the “purportedly extensive amount of work” involved in responding to Apple’s discovery requests would be “simply unfair” if Judge Neals ultimately reverses his ruling.
Additionally, Judge Linares rejected Apple’s argument that pausing the decision while Judge Neals weighs whether to reverse it would prejudice the company by further delaying its efforts to obtain the documents. He said the case remains “very much in the earlier phases of discovery,” and that other discovery can continue in the meantime.
With that decision now stayed, Apple will have an opportunity to respond to the government’s appeal, after which the DOJ will have seven calendar days to file a reply. Judge Neals will then decide whether to uphold or reverse Judge Linares’ original discovery order.
You can read Judge Linares’s full decision below:
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
