The landmark antitrust ruling against Google on Monday disrupts a long-standing tech partnership.
Judge Amit Mehta stated that Alphabet’s $26 billion US in payments to make its search engine the default option on smartphones and web browsers effectively prevented any other competitors from succeeding in the market.
The case centres on Google’s exclusive deal to be the default search engine on iPhone, iPad and the Mac. Apple benefited significantly, with Judge Mehta calling it a “crucial partner” to Google.
During the trial, Apple executives defended the partnership. Under a 2002 agreement, Google paid Apple a share of search advertising revenue to remain the default search engine, with payments reaching $20 billion US in 2022. This deal granted Google access to Apple’s user base, which handles over half of all U.S. search queries.
Apple has not commented on the decision, but is expected to play a key role in determining remedies for Google’s legal breaches. Possible solutions could range from targeted measures to wide-ranging reforms. The U.S. Department of Justice has yet to specify its desired outcome, according to the Financial Times.
Independent analyst Eric Seufert stated, “The most profound impact of the judgment is liable to be felt by Apple.”
Google plans to appeal the ruling, but analysts are saying it’s a long shot. Nonetheless, Apple stands to lose billions in payments from the company that also makes Android, the rival smartphone OS to the iPhone.
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Meh. Apple will just increase the retail prices for products and services.
So when Apple bangs on about 'Privacy' – most recently in TV ads re: iOS Safari – this does not extend to those who actually use the product and / or Google on it – as Apple has granted Google access to the user base.
For my part, I use Startpage. Based in the EU, so its user safety and privacy requirements are already significantly higher than, say, Google or DuckDuckGo – both based in the US.