US government against Google: Apple sees irreparable damage for itself
Since Apple is not allowed to become a defendant itself, the company's lawyers are now trying a different method.
Browser on the iPhone: Apple gets a lot of money from Google thanks to Safari.
(Image: Primakov/Shutterstock.com)
Apple is still trying to influence an antitrust case against Google brought by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) –, which could cost the company billions in revenue. The proceedings must be stayed, Apple said in a motion to the court requesting an emergency stay of the trial. The reason: Apple has not had the opportunity to present its side of the story, even though the company is threatened with "irreparable damage" if Google is convicted.
Safari at risk as a money-making machine
The case is about Google's market power, which the DoJ would like to curtail. In the proceedings, it became public that Google pays a good 26 billion US dollars per year to browser and device manufacturers to be the default search engine. The majority goes to Apple because Google is preselected in Safari on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple therefore receives a share of the advertising revenue, which, according to an Apple manager, will have flushed 20 billion dollars into Apple's coffers in 2022 alone.
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Apple had recently tried to become a co-defendant in the proceedings, but the court did not allow this. This would have allowed Apple to defend itself directly. The judge stated that the iPhone company had filed this claim too late. The emergency stay should therefore now take effect. As the lucrative deal with Google is at stake in the proceedings, Apple believes it has the right to be involved in the proceedings. In order to prepare for this, the dispute must be temporarily suspended.
Sell Chrome, cut off the Play Store
"Apple will not be able to participate in the collection of evidence in the targeted manner proposed by Apple while this litigation moves toward a final judgment." There is a risk that Apple will remain entirely "mute" in the proceedings while the US government takes "extreme measures" affecting Apple that could ban any commercial contracts between Apple and Google for a decade.
The DoJ would prefer to achieve a break-up of Google in the proceedings, which were launched under the Biden administration. In addition to bans such as the deal with Apple, the Chrome browser is to be sold and Android is to be separated from the Play Store and Google Search. It can be assumed that Google's defense of Chrome is more important than the deal with Apple. The iPhone manufacturer therefore fears that Google is not adequately representing its interests.
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