Here’s the DOJ antitrust chief’s message to Apple shareholders

On Friday, the Justice Department’s top antitrust official urged Apple shareholders to “compete on the merits,” following the government’s lawsuit against the iPhone maker for alleged anticompetitive activities.

“Competition on the merits is good for everybody,” Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for antitrust, stated on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“Great for business. Beneficial to consumers. “It’s good for the economy, which is ultimately what this lawsuit is about,” Kanter continued.

The Justice Department sued Apple on Thursday, alleging that the company used anticompetitive practices to control the smartphone industry. The suit claims that a large portion of Apple’s ecosystem is designed to keep customers buying iPhones, even if it means foregoing more innovative features that might make it easier to leave the ecosystem.

In a statement released Thursday, Apple stated that the lawsuit “threatens who we are” and would “set a dangerous precedent.”

According to experts, the lawsuit might take years to resolve, and Apple is likely to seek dismissal. But, in the meantime, those experts said, the bigger risk to Apple and its shareholders was the distraction and scope of an antitrust lawsuit, which could possibly shift management attention away from the firm and toward battling the government’s charges.

Apple shares fell around 4% on Thursday after the Justice Department filed its lawsuit, and they traded mostly flat on Friday morning.