Apple, a company known for its secretive work culture, is upset that details of its backroom deals with Google are becoming public information through U.S. v. Google, the Department of Justice’s landmark antitrust case against the tech giant.
Much of the government’s case revolves around payments made by Google to Apple and other companies to make its search engine default on phones and web browsers. In 2022, it was estimated that Google’s yearly payments to Apple were as high as $20 billion.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai (The Associated Press)
To prevent further details coming out, Apple’s lawyers are protesting that confidential business information is being disclosed.
The Washington Post reported 0n the remarks made by Apple’s attorneys in court, and the response by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta:
Significant portions of the evidence in the trial have been sealed as trade secrets, despite activists pushing for greater transparency in a trial that could affect how billions of people interact with the internet. The court set up a public telephone line for Tuesday’s opening statements, but the rest of the months-long trial, including Wednesday’s session, will be accessible only in person.
Mehta acknowledged Apple’s protest, but said that he would they leave the matter for now.
“From where I’m sitting, everyone has been quite diligent,” Mehta said. “There’s a large volume of material here.”
U.S. v. Google may prove to be the most significant antitrust suit brought by the government since the case against Microsoft at the start of the millennium.
The stakes are high for Google if it loses at trial. Potential penalties range from restrictions on its ability to cut deals with other tech companies to advance its search monopoly, to a full breakup of the company.
The case is United States v. Google, 1:20-cv-03010 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election. Follow him on Twitter @AllumBokhari.