The figure provides a clearer picture of what Google pays partners, including Apple, to be the default search engine on their products. The US Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general argue that Google illegally maintains a monopoly in the search market by using its dominance to block rivals on distribution channels like Apple’s Safari browser.
The $26.3 billion doesn’t represent a payment to any one company, but Apple is likely to receive the lion’s share. Google is estimated to have paid Apple $19 billion this year to be the default search engine on Apple devices.
According to the Justice Department’s lawsuit, Google spends billions of dollars each year on distributors—including major device makers like Apple, LG, Motorola, Samsung; carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon; and browser makers Mozilla, Opera, UCWeb—to secure its position. In many cases, that prevents those partners from doing business with Google’s competitors.
Google responded, saying users can change their default search engine with just a few clicks.
The “Google Search+ Margins” slide released — which primarily deals with Google’s search division — shows the division’s 2021 revenue was more than $146 billion, while traffic acquisition costs were more than $26 billion.
The slide includes figures from 2014, when Google recorded nearly $47 billion in revenue and paid $7.1 billion to be the default. That means Google search revenue nearly tripled from 2014 to 2021, while spending nearly quadrupled.
(According to CNBC)
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