Google will replace Apple as the default search engine for its Safari web browser by 200% in 2022 alone, according to unredacted documents revealed on the eve of Thursday’s closing arguments that conclude the Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case. He paid a huge sum of 100 million dollars.
The huge figure was revealed in public testimony by Apple executive Eddie Cue early in the trial last fall, marking the first time the figure had been publicly confirmed.
This statement was published as part of a large document, First reported by Bloomberg.
Antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department argued that Google relies on large payments to Apple and other partners to enable its search engine by default on most devices.
Federal authorities allege that these deals allowed Google to maintain an illegal monopoly on online search and an approximately 90% share of the overall market.
The Justice Department and Google are scheduled to present closing arguments Thursday and Friday.
Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling on whether Google maintains a monopoly is expected later this year.
If Mehta rules against Google, there will be separate court proceedings to determine the appropriate remedy.
Google and Apple fought to keep details of the agreement secret during the trial.
Antitrust watchdogs have harshly criticized Mr. Mehta for initially allowing parts of the trial, including the testimony of key witnesses like Mr. Kew, to be kept from the public.
When asked about Google spending billions of dollars on default deals during the trial, CEO Sundar Pichai said: “We definitely think it’s worth it.” Admitted.
One gaffe occurred last November. That’s when a Google witness happened to reveal that Google pays Apple 36% of his search ad revenue earned through Safari.
Google’s John Schmidlein was said to have “visibly cringed” in court during his confession.
Federal authorities say Google’s total payments to secure search default deals with Apple and other companies reached $26.3 billion in 2021.
Competition experts have floated a variety of possible outcomes if Google loses, including the possibility of implementing a “choice screen” that would allow users to choose a default search engine, or the company It also includes the possibility of division.
