The Justice Department’s top antitrust official said Friday that shareholders should encourage the corporate to “compete on its merits,” a day after the federal government sued the iPhone maker over alleged anticompetitive practices.
“Competition on merits is a win-win,” Jonathan Kanter, deputy attorney general for antitrust, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“Good for business. Good for consumers. It’s good for the economy and that is why ultimately that is what this lawsuit is about,” Kanter added.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the company of using anti-competitive tactics to control the smartphone market. The lawsuit alleged that much of the Apple ecosystem was designed to keep consumers buying iPhones, even at the expense of more innovative features that would inadvertently make it easier to exit the ecosystem.
In a statement Thursday, Apple said the lawsuit “threatens who we’re” and “sets a dangerous precedent.”
Experts told CNBC that the legal proceedings could take years and that Apple would likely seek to dismiss them. But within the meantime, experts said, the larger risk for Apple and its shareholders was the distraction and scope of the antitrust lawsuit, which could potentially divert executives’ attention away from the business and toward fighting the federal government’s claims.
Apple shares fell about 4% on Thursday after the Justice Department announced its lawsuit, and were essentially flat on Friday morning.
