Google’s antitrust victory allowed it to continue paying Apple billions to be the iPhone’s search engine, but of course the Justice Department has now appealed the decision.
In August 2024, Judge Amit Metha initially ruled that Google was a monopoly, supporting the Justice Department’s allegations. However, it imposed several limits on Google in September 2025, leaving its $20 billion annual contract with Apple intact.
Now according to ReutersThe Ministry of Justice will appeal against this judgment. The Ministry of Justice and an unspecified group of American states are appealing the case.
In the court documents filed so far, there are no details to appeal. It is possible that this means that the Justice Department and the states want a blanket appeal of every element of the sentence.
However, the appeal is reportedly expected to focus on the Apple deal, as well as how Judge Metha decided not to force Google to sell its Chrome browser. The sale of Chrome was a key part of the Justice Department’s response to the original ruling that Google was an advertising monopoly.
Unsurprisingly, the Justice Department appealed the decision, and Google itself is still appealing elements of the original ruling.
But it means the deal with Apple remains moot. During the lawsuit, Apple’s Eddy Cue tried to downplay the deal, saying the company was considering whether AI search would replace Google on the iPhone.
At the same time, Cue reported that Google searches fell for the first time. As the case progressed, Apple also decided not to add Google Gemini to Apple Intelligence in early 2025, despite code references in the then-upcoming iOS 18.4.
After the case, Apple and Google strengthened their relationship, and Google Gemini will be heavily used in the new Siri.
Since the Justice Department’s appeal has just been filed, there are no details yet on the schedule for any hearing. However, based on other cases, it is said to be likely to take a year for the case to progress.