Jon Prosser responds to Apple lawsuit by blaming co-defendant

YouTuber Jon Prosser has finally filed a formal response to Apple's lawsuit against him and co-defendant Michael Ramacciotti over alleged theft of iOS trade secrets. In his response, Prosser denied that he “planned or participated in any conspiracy or coordinated scheme” to harm Apple. However, he admitted to recording a FaceTime call during which Ramacciotti demonstrated unreleased iOS features, and to sharing a portion of YouTube advertising revenue from his videos about the leaks with Ramacciotti.

Apple’s lawsuit, filed last July, alleged that Prosser and Ramacciotti had a “coordinated scheme to break into an Apple development iPhone, steal Apple’s trade secrets, and profit from the theft.” According to Apple, Ramacciotti showed Prosser information from a development iPhone belonging to Apple employee Ethan Lipnik during a FaceTime call. In 2025, Prosser posted three videos on his Front Page Tech channel detailing an unreleased iOS 19 with design elements similar to the Liquid Glass interface later shown at WWDC as part of iOS 26.

Prosser denied that he jointly planned to access the information or that he knew about Ramacciotti’s financial situation. He also said he was unaware of who Ethan Lipnik was and how Ramacciotti obtained the information. Prosser admitted to participating in the FaceTime call and seeing “certain iOS features,” but claimed he had no knowledge whether iOS 19 was actually unreleased.

Prosser denied any knowledge of location tracking used by Ramacciotti to know when Lipnik would be away, nor did he know that the iPhone belonged to Lipnik or how Ramacciotti accessed it. He also denied “enlisting or bribing” Ramacciotti before the call, but acknowledged sharing revenue to maintain exclusive communication. He said he cut off contact with Ramacciotti after learning how the information was obtained.

Prosser admitted that the information he saw was unreleased software and that he reported on it as any news organization would. He also admitted showing at least part of the recording to others, but denied possessing any further confidential information not already disclosed to Apple.

In his filing, Prosser argued that Ramacciotti is “completely responsible” for any disclosure of Apple’s trade secrets and should indemnify Prosser for all harm caused. Prosser also requested a jury trial on all issues.

Earlier, a default was entered against Prosser for failing to respond in time, but after he agreed to a deposition, the judge set aside the default and gave him 10 days to file a response. Apple declined to comment on the active litigation.