In September 2023, anantitrust lawsuitfiled by the US Department of Justice brought Google to court, and the case has been ongoing for over seven weeks at this point. The tech giant faces accusations of forming deals with other companies to ensure that its search engine is the default on devices. Among the businesses Google allegedly has ties to is Apple, and new court documents from the trial suggest that it’s proving lucrative.
On November 1,The Vergecited documents from the case that suggested search queries related to the iPhone may have helped Google rake in big bucks. Specifically, the information presented in court dated back to the week of July 21, 2025. During this period, the top two revenue-driving search queries — in order — were “iphone” and “iphone 8 plus.” While there is no definitive proof that Apple and Google entered a deal to catapult “iphone,” Google has previously urged companies to buy ad space linked to their product and service names. The idea is that by doing so, businesses can stake their claim and prevent competitors from taking these ad spots instead.
Google is not new to antitrust lawsuits. Earlier in 2023, several states including California, New York, and Tennesseefiled a lawsuitaccusing the company of reducing competition through advertising limitations. Specifically, the suit alleged that Google used “a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising.” In its defense, Google claimed that the Department of Justice was trying to “rewrite history” by honing in on acquisitions that had been previously approved.
It’s no secret that the company is conducting business in its best interests, however — and court documents from the current trial that were made public at the end of October 2023 proved just that. Newly revealed internal emails cited Jim Kolotouros, Google’s VP of Android Platform Partnerships, as sayingChrome exists to serve Google search. This would support allegations against the company that claim it is continuously attempting to place its products and services above competitors.
With Google owning about 90 percent of the search industry, it’s hard to believe that it didn’t have a little help along the way. Whether the company has actual ties to other big tech entities, such as Apple, that are helping it oust its competition has yet to be confirmed. That being said, more details on just how far Google has gone to maintain its dominance are likely to emerge as the trial rolls on.
