Google is serious about remaining the default search engine on Apple’s Macs, iPhones and iPads. This is what the latest information from the antitrust trial targeting the search giant reveals.
18 billion. Google pays Apple $18 billion a year to maintain its place as the default search engine on the company’s machines. According to information obtained by the New York Times, the search giant would do anything to maintain its place of choice within the Apple ecosystem, even to somewhat twist the spirit of European texts.
A titanic fight
The exact amount that Google paid Apple to be the default search engine on Safari has long been kept secret, but the antitrust lawsuit targeting the Mountain View company has finally provided a clear figure. Some analysts estimated the deal was worth $10 billion or $20 billion a year. The figure of 18 billion is therefore not exactly surprising, but it is in the upper range of what could be expected.
This exorbitant amount is not entirely dictated by the laws of the market according to the New York Times. The bill paid by Google also helps keep the peace between two of the biggest companies in the world.
Apple has, in fact, long tried to get rid of its dependence on Google, even considering the acquisition of Bing in 2020. As for Google, the fear was that the search giant would use its ultra-popular applications like YouTube and Gmail to encourage Internet users to switch from Safari to Chrome, thus breaking Apple’s pressure tactic.
The EU as an ally of Google?
Fearing for its future, Sundar Pichai’s firm even considered using European legislation to its advantage. At the time of the discussions on the Digital Markets Act in Brussels, Google would have considered sending a few lobbyists to the European Commission to ensure that the text, originally designed to limit the power of the digital giants, breaks the control that Apple exerts on its software ecosystem. The idea then being that Google can offer services as personalized as those of Apple (thanks to the use of data) and convince Internet users to opt for its tools rather than those of its competitor. All without having to pay anything.
The firms each having means of pressure to reduce the influence of the other, it took a few billion to keep the peace. The affair has, however, not yet finished experiencing twists and turns since Apple is still honing its weapons to do without (one day) Google and the “ fantastic oligopolistic arrangement” which links the two companies (according to the CEO of Microsoft), will continue to be closely observed by the American courts.
Source : New York Times
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