Google’s Secret Payment to Apple Finally Revealed in Court
During Google’s antitrust trial, it was accidentally disclosed that Google pays Apple a staggering 36% cut of its search ad revenue through Safari as part of their deal. This information was meant to remain confidential, but University of Chicago professor Kevin Murphy, a Google economics expert and witness for the trial, revealed the figure, prompting a noteworthy reaction from Google’s lawyer in the courtroom.
This revelation sheds light on Google’s deal with Apple to secure its position as the default search engine in Safari. The tech giant pays a significant 36% of its search ad revenue made through Apple’s web browser as part of the deal, a detail which both Google and Apple have been fiercely fighting to keep confidential.
The disclosure is part of Google’s antitrust trial, which began in September after the Department of Justice sued Google in 2020 over allegations of illegally maintaining a monopoly in search through “anticompetitive and exclusionary practices.” The trial is focused on Google’s partner deals to be the default search engine on devices and is the most significant antitrust case against a tech giant since the 1990s, when Microsoft was sued the government.
These revelations give a deeper insight into the dealings of two of the world’s most influential tech companies. It was already known that Google pays Apple approximately $18 billion to remain the top search engine on Apple devices. However, the specific details of the agreement, including the 36% cut from search ad revenue, add new dimensions to this high-stakes partnership.