Apple blocked from presenting at Google antitrust hearing where $20 billion search deal is at stake
1 min read
Summary
Apple has failed in its bid to be allowed to take a role - even a limited one - in the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) trial investigating Google’s alleged monopoly in the search engine market.
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the iPhone maker had taken too long to file its request, and therefore its intervention was barred.
The long-running case began in 2020, with the DOJ winning its case against Google last year, which found the company did have a monopoly over search and advertising.
The appeals court ruling could impact the remedies phase of the case, in which the FTC has recommended that Google should divest itself of its Chrome browser, and make changes to its Android business.
The arrangement, which keeps Google as the default search engine on Apple’s iPhones, is estimated to be worth $20bn per year.