Apple Denies Antitrust Claims in Virus App Monopoly Lawsuit

Apple urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the tech giant of creating a virtual monopoly on COVID-19 virus app programs.  

Plaintiff Coronavirus Reporter lodged the $800 million lawsuit earlier this year alleging that Apple blocked its virus app so it could corner the market. On Monday, Apple filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in New Hampshire federal court.  

“This case is borne of a developer’s dissatisfaction with Apple’s lawful efforts—both under antitrust law and the contract at issue here—to ensure the App Store was a place where consumers could find trustworthy and reliable coronavirus-related apps,” contends the tech giant in its motion. 

Coronavirus Reporter accused Apple of using “arbitrary and capricious standards” to effectively block the virus app offered by the company in March of 2020 as the pandemic swept across the world.  

The plaintiff says Apple cited a lack of trust in the virus app’s self-report model and a lack of “deeply rooted medical credentials” when it blocked access to its App Store; however, the company allegedly rolled out a similar virus app during the summer.  

Coronavirus Reporter contended in its lawsuit that Apple operated a “de facto monopoly” on access to internet resources. The Coronavirus Reporter app was created with the involvement of Robert Roberts, inventor of “the gold-standard test” for detecting heart attacks and head NASA cardiologist during the space race, pointed out the lawsuit, and Apple’s refusal to allow the virus app into its App Store “den[ied] millions of citizens the benefit of communicating in a pandemic emergency using an app designed by a world-renowned physician.” 

Apple claims that the lawsuit’s allegations of a monopoly are baseless, arguing that the tech giant has no obligation to deal with its competitors.

“In a grasping attempt to challenge the lawfulness of Apple’s decision to reject Plaintiff’s coronavirus app from distribution on the iOS App Store, Plaintiff brings antitrust and contract claims that exhibit a cavalier disregard for the law and facts, and border on the frivolous,” says Apple in its motion urging the court to toss the claims.

Have you used a virus app during the coronavirus pandemic? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below! 

Coronavirus Reporter is represented by Keith Mathews of Associated Attorneys of New England. 

The Virus App Monopoly Lawsuit is Coronavirus Reporter v. Apple Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-00047, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. 

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