Google's main economic expert, Kevin Murphy, disclosed that the company is paying 36% of the search deal revenue through the Safari browser during the antitrust trial in Washington.
Google, Apple Deal Was Confidential
Bloomberg reported that both companies have previously agreed that details including the percentage of the revenue are not to be revealed publicly. According to last week's court filing any additional information that would be revealed "would unreasonably undermine Google's competitive standing in relation to both competitors and other counterparties."
However, during Murphy's testimony, he blurted out the number. Bloomberg reported that Google's main litigator, John Schmidtlein, "visibly cringed" upon hearing the confidential detail in court. X user Big Tech on Trial called it the "biggest slip of the entire trial."
Google’s witness just let leak that it shares 36% of its search revenue with Apple. Probably the biggest slip of the entire trial.
— Big Tech on Trial (@BigTechOnTrial) November 13, 2023
On the other hand, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sees this revelation as significant information that proves how valuable placements on iPhones are to the search leader. The department has been investigating Google under allegations of maintaining an illegal monopoly over search engines.
DOJ Alleges Google Pays to Block Competitors
The department also argued that Google has been paying so much in order to become the default search engine, blocking all potential competitors, such as Apple's Safari. Through these deals, users are locked into the company's services regardless of the device. This strategy puts Google in a dominant position in the industry.
Moreover, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed during his testimony that Google is capable of furthering its advantage with the use of AI. Previously, an Apple executive disclosed that the search deal with Google was so tight and lucrative that it forced the company to stop developing its own search engine.
The companies started their partnership in 2002. Two decades of search deals and it has become one of Google's most important default deals, especially in the US wherein most people use iPhones as their smartphones. In 2022, Statista reported that Google's advertising revenue was $224 billion. This gives Apple an estimated payout of tens of billions of dollars based on the 36% revelation.
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