In a landmark revelation, court documents have disclosed that Google paid Apple a whopping $20 billion in 2022 to remain the default search engine for Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This information came to light during Google’s ongoing antitrust dispute with the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).
The DoJ has accused Google of monopolizing the search market, and the search engine deal with Apple has been a significant focus of the lawsuit. Documents from November indicated that Google was paying 36 percent of the total revenue it earns from searches conducted on Safari, which now appears to equate to $20 billion.
Google has been the default search engine on Apple devices since 2002, although the deal has been renegotiated several times. Both Apple and Google have strived to keep the terms of the search engine agreement confidential during the trial and before, but it has been well known that Google is paying Apple billions per year.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified last October that the agreement between Apple and Google has made it impossible for search engines like Bing to compete. Microsoft once wanted Apple to buy Bing, but Apple was not interested. Apple’s Eddy Cue stated that Apple uses Google as the iPhone’s default search engine because Apple has “always thought it was the best.”
If Google loses the antitrust lawsuit against it, the deal between Apple and Google could be dissolved. Closing arguments are expected soon, with the judge’s ruling set to come later in 2024. This case underscores the critical issue of market monopoly and the need for clear regulations and guidelines in the tech industry.
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