US Department of Justice wants Apple's request to get rid of antitrust monitor denied

The US Department of Justice has reportedly argued that Apple's move to remove the court-appointed antitrust monitor should be denied.

A federal appeals court had appointed an external monitor to check Apple's trade practices following the major e-book row with publishers and retails, in which the tech giant was found to be violating the norms by illegally fixing e-book prices.

However, Apple had claimed that the monitor, Michael Bromwich, had been charging a hefty fee and being over intrusive in his investigations, more than what he was empowered with.

According to Cnet, the federal appeals court had then granted Apple's motion to hold off on having Bromwich, saying it would give the company a reprieve until a panel can examine the issue.

The Department of Justice said that the court didn't abuse its power by appointing the external monitor, and Apple must show it will suffer 'irreparable harm' if the monitorship isn't put on hold.

It also argued that Apple couldn't show that the monitor behaved improperly, and if Apple could show that, the correct action would be replacing the monitor, not getting rid of a monitor entirely.

Apple, along with five of the six top book publishers have been sued by the Department of Justice last year, alleging that they conspired to break Amazon's hold on the e-books market with its popular Kindle Reader by 'illegally' setting prices, the report added.