Apple has asked Google to participate in an upcoming US antitrust trial over online search, saying it cannot rely on Google to defend revenue-sharing agreements that send the iPhone maker billions of dollars each year to make Google the default search engine in its Safari browser.
Apple has no plans to build its own search engine to compete with Alphabet’s Google, whether the payments continue or not, the company’s lawyers said in court papers filed Monday in Washington. Apple received an estimated $20 billion from its deal with Google in 2022 alone.
Apple intends to call witnesses at the April trial. Prosecutors will seek to show that Google should take several measures, including selling its Chrome web browser and potentially its Android operating system, to restore competition in online search.
“Google can no longer adequately represent Apple’s interests: Google must now defend against widespread attempts to break up its business units,” Apple said.
The Justice Department’s prosecution of Google is a landmark case that could reshape how users find information online.
Google has proposed loosening default contracts with browser developers, mobile-device makers and wireless carriers, but not ending agreements that allow Google to share a portion of ad revenue generated from searches.
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