Washington DC:

Two of the world’s biggest tech giants – Apple and Google – are joining forces in a case that appears increasingly untenable. Billions upon billions are at stake and Google, the world’s “default” search engine, is staring into the abyss.

There’s a lot to lose for both tech giants – for Apple, it could mean tens of billions of dollars in losses per year and unimaginable impacts on the accuracy of its results for features like Siri and Spotlight, whose framework relies largely on Google Search. For Google, this could result in not only money and market share, but also the massive loss of its entire web browser – Chrome. It also faces another potentially gigantic loss – its Android operating system.

And with Google in deep trouble, Apple has sought to join the antitrust case against Google over its Internet search engine. Apple said Tuesday that it had to intervene because it couldn’t rely solely on Google to defend the two companies’ revenue-sharing agreements.

The epicenter of the case, which has caused a stir throughout Silicon Valley, lies in an agreement between Google and Apple under which the iPhone, iPad and MacBook maker receives tens of billions of dollars each year for making Google the default search engine in its browser makes – safari. In 2022 alone, Apple is said to have earned more than $20 billion as a result of this agreement.

The core question of the case is simple: Has Google monopolized online search? According to Google – No, that is not the case.

In simple business terms, a monopoly is a situation in which a single company controls the entire market. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult or sometimes impossible for competitors to keep up as there is no level playing field.

Focusing on this point, Apple’s lawyers filed papers with the court on Tuesday arguing that Apple and Google are not competitors and that Apple does not want to compete in the search engine space. It also said that this will be the case whether or not Apple receives Google’s billions of dollars in the future.

Apple also said in its petition that it wants to name witnesses to testify under oath at the trial scheduled for April 2025. On this day, prosecutors want to highlight the need for Google to take several actions – two of which are selling its Chrome browser and possibly its Android operating system. Prosecutors believe that only then will competition in online searches be restored. However, if this were to happen, it would be a fatal blow to Google.

While Google’s parent company, Alphabet, seeks a way to combat this serious threat to its existence, Apple, understanding the seriousness of the situation, has said: “Google can no longer adequately represent Apple’s interests. Google must now defend itself against a sweeping effort to break up its divisions.”

Meanwhile, Google justified its position by saying that the entire premise of the case was based on exclusive deals – and that should be the focus of the case, not the goal of breaking Google. There was even an offer to end such deals in the future.

In addition to ending its contract with Apple, Google has even indicated that it is willing to stop entering into agreements with Android phone makers that require the phone makers to set Google as the default search engine in return for its operating system and supporting apps. Google also said it would give browser companies like Mozilla more flexibility in choosing competing search engines as their default search. According to Google’s lawyers, this is a fair solution to make the market more competitive.

Until the crucial hearing in April, Google is doing everything it can to defend itself and limit its losses if it loses the landmark case.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Google is set to be a defining moment for the global technology industry – a landmark case that will potentially fundamentally change the way the world uses the Internet.