Apple was not removed from Google’s original antitrust trial. On March 25, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit left in place a ruling denying Apple permission to participate directly in the remedies phase of the Justice Department’s search-monopoly case.
That distinction matters. Apple could still submit written material and friend-of-the-court briefs, but it could not present live evidence or cross-examine witnesses. The ruling did not cancel Apple’s agreement with Google, either. It weakened Apple’s ability to defend a search-default arrangement that has been valued at roughly $20 billion a year and later became subject to significant restrictions.
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What the court actually decided
Apple sought limited intervention in the remedies proceedings against Google. It wanted a more direct role in a hearing that could affect its commercial agreement with Google, including the ability to present evidence and question witnesses.
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The court rejected that request because Apple waited approximately 33 days after the government’s initial remedies proposal before seeking to intervene. The D.C. Circuit left that decision in place.
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Apple was therefore:
| Still allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| To submit written testimony | To present live evidence as a participating party |
| To file friend-of-the-court briefs | To cross-examine witnesses |
| To make its position known through filings | To take part fully in the remedies hearing |
The headline that Apple was “barred from Google’s antitrust trial” is therefore too broad. By the time Apple sought to participate, the case had already moved beyond the liability trial and into the remedies stage. Apple was not expelled from a proceeding in which it had previously been a party, and the decision did not itself terminate the Google-Apple contract.
More precisely, Apple was denied direct participation in the proceedings determining what Google would have to change after being found liable.
Contemporary reporting on the appellate ruling and the Justice Department’s case materials describe the procedural dispute.
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Why Apple wanted to participate
Apple has a direct financial interest in the outcome. Google is the default general search engine in Safari and related Apple search access points, including across the company’s mobile and desktop ecosystem. In return, Google shares search-related revenue with Apple.
The government argued that these default-search arrangements helped Google preserve its position in online search. Defaults matter because many users continue using the preselected service rather than changing it, even when alternatives are technically available.
For Apple, the arrangement provides substantial recurring revenue without requiring the company to finance and operate a worldwide general-purpose search engine. A remedy that reduced Google’s ability to pay for default placement could therefore affect Apple’s services revenue and its negotiating position.
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Intervention is not automatic simply because a company could lose money. Courts also consider timing, the stage of the case and whether existing parties adequately represent the company’s interests. In Apple’s case, the court concluded that its request came too late.
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What the Google-Apple search arrangement does
The commercial relationship involves several separate concepts that are often compressed into the phrase “Google pays to be the default.” They should be distinguished:
- Default placement: Google is preselected for general searches in Safari and associated Apple interfaces.
- Revenue sharing: Apple receives a share of revenue connected with searches originating through those access points.
- Exclusivity: A contract may limit whether a partner can distribute competing search products or make payments conditional on maintaining Google’s position.
- User choice: Users can generally change their search engine, but the government’s theory was that the default gives Google a major advantage before a user makes any change.
- Opportunity cost: By licensing search from Google, Apple avoids the cost and risk of building its own full-scale search operation, while remaining dependent on an outside provider.
The government’s case did not depend on proving that users were literally unable to select another search engine. Its argument was that agreements controlling valuable default distribution could make it much harder for rivals to achieve scale.
The Justice Department’s description of the original case and its treatment of search-distribution agreements is available in its complaint announcement.
Where the roughly $20 billion figure comes from
The amount widely cited in the case is approximately $20 billion per year. Government evidence, court materials and contemporaneous reporting placed Google’s annual payments to Apple at roughly that level in the relevant period. Some reports cited about $18 billion for 2021 and about $20 billion for 2022.
That figure should not be read as a fixed, publicly disclosed amount guaranteed every year. Contract terms, revenue levels and accounting treatment can change. Nor is it automatically Apple’s net profit. It is best described as an approximate annual revenue-sharing or payment figure reported in the litigation and related coverage.
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The economic stakes are nevertheless large. Losing or materially reducing an income stream of that size could affect Apple’s services economics. But “Apple will lose $20 billion” was never the immediate legal result of the March 2025 ruling. It was a possible consequence of remedies that might restrict Google’s payment structure.
See WIRED’s background on the payment and the DOJ appellate filing for the economic and legal context.
How the antitrust case reached this point
- October 2020: The Justice Department filed its original Google search antitrust case.
- September 2023: The bench trial began.
- August 2024: Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google unlawfully maintained a monopoly in online search and search advertising markets.
- Late 2024: The government proposed remedies, including restrictions on Google’s distribution agreements. Apple later sought to intervene.
- March 25, 2025: The appellate ruling against Apple’s direct participation became the news event behind the headline about the $20 billion arrangement.
- May 2025: The remedies trial lasted 15 days.
- September 2, 2025: The district court imposed significant remedies against Google.
- December 5, 2025: The final judgment was entered.
- 2026: Compliance monitoring, status proceedings and appeals continued.
The DOJ’s Google case page contains the principal case timeline and filings.
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The government sought remedies aimed at preventing Google from using distribution agreements to lock up search access. The theory was not simply that Google had a popular product, but that payments and contract restrictions could prevent rivals from reaching users at the scale needed to compete.
The proposed and eventual remedies addressed arrangements involving:
- Exclusive default-search placement;
- Payments conditioned on keeping Google Search or related products in a particular position;
- Long-term revenue-sharing arrangements;
- Restrictions preventing partners from distributing competing search engines;
- Conditions tying search placement to the distribution of other Google products.
The September 2, 2025 order was more specific and more nuanced than a simple instruction to remove Google Search from Apple devices. According to the DOJ, Google was barred from entering or maintaining certain exclusive contracts. Certain revenue-share conditions were limited to periods of one year or less, and Google could not condition payments on keeping Google Search or related products on a device, browser or search access point in the prohibited manner.
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The order also allowed partners to distribute competing general search engines, browsers and generative-AI products simultaneously. Additional provisions addressed data sharing and search-text-ad syndication intended to give qualifying competitors better opportunities to compete.
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Does Apple have to stop using Google?
No. Neither the March 2025 intervention ruling nor the later remedy automatically required Apple to replace Google Search with Bing, DuckDuckGo, Kagi, Brave Search or an Apple-built engine.
The legally significant change is that Google’s ability to structure certain default-search payments as exclusive or long-term arrangements was restricted. Apple and Google could still have commercial options, subject to the final judgment and subsequent proceedings.
Possible outcomes include:
- Google remains the default under revised terms. Apple could continue using Google while accepting shorter contracts, different payment conditions or less favorable economics.
- Apple keeps Google but receives less compensation. The default could remain unchanged even if the payment falls or is calculated differently.
- Apple offers more prominent choice mechanisms. Apple could make switching easier or present more search options, depending on the contract and applicable requirements.
- Another provider gains leverage. Microsoft Bing is the most obvious large-scale alternative, while other providers could compete for distribution or specialized roles.
- Apple expands its own search technology. Apple could invest in more independent search capabilities, although that would be a major technical and financial undertaking.
These are scenarios, not established predictions. Appeals, stays, compliance disputes and negotiations can affect both timing and implementation.
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A competitive general search engine requires considerably more than a search box and a ranking algorithm. A provider serving Apple’s user base would need:
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- Large-scale web crawling and indexing;
- Ranking systems that produce useful results across billions of queries;
- Spam, manipulation and low-quality-content defenses;
- Global language and regional coverage;
- Search advertising or another sustainable funding model;
- Privacy, safety and abuse-prevention systems;
- Infrastructure capable of delivering reliable results with low latency;
- Continuous engineering, data and operating investment.
Apple could value control over privacy, integration and the economics of search. But building a full competitor would also expose it to substantial capital costs and a long development timeline, while potentially sacrificing Google’s payments during the transition.
That does not mean Apple is legally required to build search, or that it is secretly preparing to launch a Google competitor. It means Apple has to weigh the value of strategic independence against the cost and risk of replacing an established supplier.
Who could replace Google?
The alternatives are not interchangeable:
- Microsoft Bing: The most obvious large-scale alternative, with an established index, advertising business and infrastructure. It is uncertain whether Microsoft would or could match Google’s payments to Apple.
- DuckDuckGo: A recognized privacy-focused search brand, but with less evident global infrastructure and financial capacity than Google.
- Kagi: A paid, privacy-oriented service with a different business model and a smaller user base. It is not a direct substitute for a free, ad-funded default at Apple’s scale.
- Brave Search: An independent, privacy-focused option, but materially smaller than Google in reach and commercial scale.
- Apple search: A route to greater control, but one requiring major investment in indexing, ranking, advertising, reliability and ongoing maintenance.
A provider would need not only relevant results, but also global availability, commercial sustainability, regulatory readiness and the ability to support Apple’s users consistently.
What this means for Apple, Google and users
Apple
Apple’s most practical near-term choice may be to renegotiate rather than immediately replace Google. Keeping Google could preserve user familiarity and search quality, but Apple may receive less favorable economics and remain dependent on Google. Choosing another provider could improve negotiating leverage, but may reduce revenue or user satisfaction. Building more of its own search stack would increase control but require major investment.
Google must decide how much value it places on Apple’s distribution. Continuing to pay could preserve access to a high-value user base, but payments may need to become shorter-term, nonexclusive or otherwise compliant. Stopping payments would reduce costs but could put default status at risk. Sharing certain data or services with rivals may help Google comply while also improving competitors’ ability to challenge it.
Consumers
The immediate Safari experience may not change. Google may remain the default even if the commercial contract changes, and users may still be able to select another provider manually.
Over time, the remedies are intended to make search distribution more contestable. That could lead to clearer choices, easier switching or more competition for default placement. But a legal restriction on exclusivity is not the same as a guarantee that consumers will see a new search engine on their devices immediately.
Why the wording matters
Several common summaries overstate what happened:
- “Apple was barred from the trial.” The accurate description is that Apple was denied direct participation in the remedies proceedings.
- “The court canceled the $20 billion deal.” The March 2025 ruling did not cancel Apple’s contract.
- “The deal is illegal.” The court found that Google unlawfully maintained a monopoly; the remedies determine which contract structures and conditions can continue.
- “Apple will lose $20 billion.” That was a possible financial consequence, not an established outcome.
- “Apple must build search.” Building a search engine is one strategic option, not a legal requirement.
- “Bing will replace Google.” No such replacement was ordered or established.
- “Google can no longer be Safari’s default.” The remedies described by the DOJ restrict certain exclusive and conditional arrangements; they do not impose a blanket ban on Google being the default.
The central result is therefore narrower but still significant: Apple lost the chance to participate directly in shaping the remedies, while the commercial arrangement that helps Google reach Apple users came under legal pressure.
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