US judge wants external monitor for Apple in e-books case

US District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan said that she plans to require Apple to hire an external monitor, something the company considers unnecessary.

Judge Cote suggested a final injunction would be narrower than what the US Department of Justice has been seeking, and would not restrict Apple's agreements with suppliers of other types of content such as movies, music and TV shows. "I want this injunction to rest as lightly as possible on how Apple runs its business," Judge Cote said at a court hearing. Poised to issue an injunction soon, she said a monitor would be necessary, after Apple had failed to show it learned its lesson from its "blatant" violations of antitrust law. The monitor, she said, would likely be installed to review Apple's internal antitrust compliance program and procedures and recommend changes, and also required annual antitrust training for employees in Apple's e-books and content businesses. Apple had vigorously contested hiring a monitor, saying in court papers it would be "extremely costly and burdensome."