Apple has formally filed papers to participate in Google's U.S. antitrust trial concerning online search practices, citing its reliance on revenue-sharing agreements that make Google the default search engine on Apple's Safari browser. 

In court filings submitted on December 23 in Washington, Apple stated that it received an estimated $20 billion from its agreement with Google in 2022 alone. Apple's lawyers also clarified that the company does not plan to develop its own search engine to rival Google, regardless of whether these payments continue, according to a recent report by Reuters.

In the filings, Apple also argues that Google may no longer adequately represent its interests in defending these arrangements as "Google now must defend against a broad effort to break up its business units".

Apple is seeking permission to call witnesses in the trial, set to commence in April, where the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to argue that Google's dominance in online search requires significant structural remedies. These may include the divestiture of key business units, such as the Chrome web browser and the Android operating system, to restore fair competition.

Google has made offers by proposing to ease its default search agreements with browser developers, device manufacturers, and wireless carriers. However, the company has resisted calls to terminate its ad revenue-sharing deals, which prosecutors allege are central to its market dominance.