In 2024, the Department of Justice launched an antitrust investigation into Apple , alleging it had unfairly acquired a monopoly in the smartphone market. Now, Apple claims in a court filing that Meta lobbied the agency to push forward with its lawsuit and played a “central role in developing the government’s allegations.”

The claims are contained in a motion accusing Mark Zuckerberg’s tech giant of failing to respond to subpoenas from Apple’s lawyers asking for information it believes will be crucial to its defense.

“For years, Meta has lobbied regulators and coordinated with developers with similar purported grievances against Apple,” the iPhone maker’s lawyers wrote. “Meta’s self-interested advocacy had the desired and intended effect.”

Apple’s legal team from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP claimed Meta acted “in an effort to enrich itself by persuading the DOJ to bring a case against Apple,” saying it “actively encouraged and facilitated the antitrust action.”

In its 2024 suit, the DOJ alleged that Apple had been anticompetitive on various grounds. Among the claims were that Apple limits the functionality of third-party messaging apps to push users towards iMessage and degrades the user experience of non-Apple Watch smartwatches when they connect to the iPhone.

Apple claims that many of the government allegations were informed by documents Meta provided to the Justice Department in the years leading up to 2024, describing the Facebook owner as “a sophisticated, interested competitor that inserted itself in [the] DOJ’s investigation leading to this case.”

Neither Meta nor Apple responded to requests for comment.

In its recently filed motion to compel Meta to respond to its subpoena, first filed a year ago, Apple says that Meta has only provided 21 documents from over 50 requests for information. As Apple lawyers note, such discovery can see a subpoenaed entity provide hundreds of thousands of documents. The filing shows Apple is seeking files and communications directly from Zuckerberg, as well as Meta’s former chief business officer Marne Levine, ex-director of strategic alliances Jim Gerber, and former chief revenue officer John Hegeman. Apple’s lawyers want any internal communications related to Zuckerberg’s comments on the Joe Rogan podcast last year, when he said Apple profits by “squeezing people” such as through a “30% tax on developers.”

Apple has also asked Meta to provide its communications with the Justice Department, as well as its plans to launch its own competing smartwatch under the “Project Milan” banner.

According to Apple’s counsel, Meta has resisted providing more documentation, claiming much of it is already available because it provided the data to the DOJ as it began building its case. Apple says that’s “not a legitimate basis for refusing to search for and produce materials.”

The deadline for discovery production is January 29 next year. Unless a settlement is reached, a trial is expected to get underway later in 2027.