A ruling will be made limiting the contract period for 'a contract to adopt Google search as the default search engine for iPhones, etc.' to within one year

Google has signed agreements with device manufacturers, including Apple, under which they pay money in exchange for using Google Search as the default search engine . A US court ruled in 2024 that this agreementviolated antitrust laws , but a new ruling has now been made banning similar agreements, except for those with a contract term of one year or less.

Judge finalizes remedies in Google antitrust case
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/05/judge-finalize-remedies-in-google-antitrust-case.html

Google Must Limit Default Contracts to One Year, Judge Rules - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-05/google-must-limit-default-contracts-to-one-year-judge-rules

Even though devices like Macs, iPhones, and Galaxy phones aren't made by Google, they use Google Search as their default search engine. This is the result of Google's agreements with device manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to pay them money in exchange for using Google Search as their default search engine. It has been revealed that Google spent $26.3 billion (approximately 4.77 trillion yen) on these agreements in 2021 alone.

It turns out that Google paid 4 trillion yen to become the default search engine on all platforms - GIGAZINE

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging that Google's actions constituted antitrust violations, and in August 2024, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the default search engine agreement violated antitrust laws.

Federal judge rules that Google's payments to maintain its dominance in smartphone search violate antitrust laws - GIGAZINE

On December 5, 2025, Judge Mehta handed down his final ruling in the lawsuit between Google and the Department of Justice. This ruling included a clause stating that 'no contract to adopt Google Search as the default search engine may be entered into except one that terminates within one year from the date of the contract,' prohibiting multi-year contracts. Since contracts of less than one year can still be entered into, this means that if a company wishes to continue the contract, it will need to renew it annually.

A series of court cases have also resulted in rulings requiring Google to share data with other companies. The latest ruling also includes requirements for the participation of the technical committee that will decide with whom Google will share data. Members must be experts in one of the following fields: software engineering, information search, artificial intelligence, economics, behavioral science, or data privacy and data security. Furthermore, anyone who has worked for Google or a competitor within the six months prior to their appointment will be considered to have a conflict of interest and will not be eligible to serve on the committee. Judge Mehta stated, 'The committee will have access to Google's source code and algorithms pursuant to non-disclosure agreements.'

At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Google or the Department of Justice will appeal.