Court denies Apple’s request to be involved in Google Search antitrust case

Apple isn’t the only big tech facing antitrust investigations as Google has also come under scrutiny for its dominant position in the market. Even the deal between Google and Apple over Safari’s default search engine was considered a violation of antitrust laws, and a court has now ruled that Apple cannot intervene in the case.

Apple won’t be able to intervene in Google Search antitrust trial

US District Court Judge Amit Mehta this week rejected an emergency request from Apple to suspend a trial that could profoundly change how Google Search works. As reported last week, Apple wanted to be involved in the case to defend its own interests as it considers that changes to Google Search would cause “irreparable harm” to the company.

However, according to the judge’s ruling (via The Verge), Apple did not provide clear evidence of how it would suffer from such changes. “Because Apple has not satisfied the ‘stringent requirements’ for obtaining the ‘extraordinary relief’ of a stay pending appeal, its motion is denied,” says the ruling.

In any event, Apple (again) fails to provide any specifics. It does not explain why party status is necessary to offer the evidence it wishes to present, or even how that evidence will differ from what the court already heard during the liability phase. It likewise fails to identify any daylight between the remedy Google has proposed and its own preferred remedy. Lacking such information, the court cannot find that Apple will suffer the “certain and great” harm required to justify a stay.

Apple’s move comes as no surprise. Even though it’s not directly involved in the case, Google paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 to be Safari’s default search engine. It’s estimated that Apple gets similar payments every year to keep the agreement. If Google is eventually forced to end the deal, Apple’s services revenue would be heavily impacted.

An antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice against Google in 2020 accused the company of anti-competitive practices when it comes to its search engine and online ad platform. Judge Mehta ruled last year that Google is indeed a monopoly. Google is still appealing the ruling, but the company may end up being forced to split off some of its operations such as Android, Chrome, and Search.

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