In May 2024, Apple asked the court overseeing the DOJ antitrust lawsuit to compel 14 federal agencies—including the CIA, DOD, FBI, FTC, NASA, NSA and others—to turn over records about how they evaluate, purchase and use smartphones and wearables. Apple argued the documents could show its iPhone’s security and privacy features are legitimate product advantages that support its defense against anticompetitive claims.

The government objected, saying the agencies do not regulate smartphones, do not purchase them like consumers, and that producing the files would be overly burdensome and risk exposing privileged or classified information. The court referred the dispute to retired federal judge Jose Linares, serving as a special discovery master, to decide whether Apple could enforce the subpoenas.

Special Master Linares sided with Apple, finding all requests relevant to the case’s core allegations and shifting the burden to the government to justify withholding any documents. He rejected the government’s justifications, noting no specific national‑security concerns were identified, so the state‑secret privilege does not apply. Agencies may still withhold privileged material but must log those claims.

The ruling does not guarantee immediate production; further disputes over privilege logs could arise, possibly leading to another review by Judge Linares.