Court rejects Apple's request to halt Google search antitrust lawsuit

Google has been sued by the US Department of Justice for allegedly violating antitrust laws in the search engine market . In the lawsuit over Google's antitrust violations, the US Department of Justice is demanding that Google sell Chrome , but companies deeply involved in Google's search business are trying to intervene to stop the lawsuit, claiming that they will be disadvantaged if the lawsuit proceeds . Apple was one of the companies trying to intervene, but the court rejected the request to stop the lawsuit.

Order on Motion to Stay – #1160 in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. GOOGLE LLC (DDC, 1:20-cv-03010) – CourtListener.com
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18552824/1160/united-states-v-google-llc/

Apple's attempt to intervene in the Google Search antitrust trial is denied | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/news/605342/apple-denied-google-search-antitrust

On January 30, 2025, Apple filed a motion with the court to stop the antitrust lawsuit regarding Google Search. Apple explained that the reason for stopping the antitrust lawsuit regarding Google Search is that it does not want to lose its right to enter into an agreement with Google that could benefit millions of users and its ability to protect the contractual fees Google pays to Apple for delivering Google Search to users.

Apple has a contract with Google to make Google the default search engine on Safari, the default browser for Apple products such as iPhones and Macs. It is an open secret that Apple is making a lot of money from this contract.

Apple receives 3 trillion yen a year from Google as 'fees for adopting Google search' - GIGAZINE

However, on February 2, 2025, Judge Amit Mehta of the Federal District Court overseeing the Google Search antitrust lawsuit dismissed the motion, saying that Apple had not provided sufficient reasons for suspending the lawsuit. Judge Mehta explained that 'Apple's motion seeks 'special relief' in the form of an injunction pending appeal, but fails to meet the 'strict requirement' and is therefore denied.' The 'strict requirement' is the presentation of clear evidence showing that Apple will 'sufficiently and materially suffer injury.'

The relief measures for the lawsuit regarding Google Search's antitrust violations are scheduled to be decided in April 2025. The US Department of Justice has demanded that Google sell Chrome and, if necessary, separate the Android business, but Google has argued that this 'far exceeds the court's judgment,' and that if the Chrome and Android businesses are split up, not only Google but also Google users will suffer various disadvantages.

US Department of Justice demands Google sell Chrome, Google counters, 'This goes far beyond the court's decision' - GIGAZINE