Apple deal makes Google "seamless and easy" to use -- CEO

AppleInsider · October 30, 2023 5:46PM

Google CEO Sundar Pichai told the US Federal court overseeing his company's antitrust case that Google's deal with Apple makes it "very, very seamless and easy for users to use our services."

Google pays to be the default

From Google's perspective, its position as Apple's default search engine leads to increased use of Google's products and services, Pichai said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"So there is clear value in that and that's what we were looking for," Pichai added.

Pichai was called to testify Monday as the trial entered its eighth week. Lawyers representing the US Department of Justice (DoJ) have asserted that Google "knowingly crossed antitrust lines" then worked to cover up those efforts.

"They knew these agreements crossed antitrust lines," said Kenneth Dintzer, DoJ Deputy Branch Director, said in his opening remarks in September. "Defaults are powerful, scale matters and Google illegally maintained a monopoly for more than a decade."

Apple is not accused of wrongdoing in the case, but Federal prosecutors have cited Google's primacy as Apple's default search engine as an example of the company's overreach. From Apple's perspective, it's about providing best results for customers, according to Apple senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue.

When he was asked to testify in September, Cue told the court, "We make Google be the default search engine because we've always thought it was the best."

The trial lumbers on under the aegis of U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta. It was originally expected to take about 10 weeks, so it's in its final stages now.

Prosecutors claim that Google paid $26.3 billion to be the default search engine used on mobile phones and by web browsers in 2021, with analysts claiming the majority of that money going to Apple.

According to a report published by Bernstein, Apple could be out up to $20 billion in annual payments from Google, if Google is forced to change how it does business.

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baconstang · October 30, 2023 8:03PM

You know what else is easy?
Switching to DDG for default search!

kkee · October 30, 2023 10:20PM

Google is still the best search engine, even the word 'google' is synonym to web search. Yes, plenty of other alternatives, and switching is easy. But Apple always has a soft spot for the the best.

davidw · October 30, 2023 11:30PM

>Prosecutors claim that Google paid $26.3 billion to be the default search engine used on mobile phones and by web browsers in 2021, with analysts claiming the majority of that money going to Apple. <

That is not the most correct way to put it and the prosecutors saying that way automatically makes it seem as though Google is doing something wrong.

The more correct way to put it is that it cost Google $26.3B to be the default search engine. Google deal (at least with Apple) is one of revenue sharing. Google and Apple might have a general idea of of the sum involve with the deal that includes a percentage of the ad revenue generated with iOS/MacOS, in exchange for Google being the default search on Safari, but Google didn't pay Apple $20B up front to be the default.

What Apple will eventually earn is still dependent on how much revenue Google derive from ads place on Apple customers searches. The more Google earns, the more Apple earns. It's not as though Google took the chance of paying Apple $20B up front, while maybe earning only $25B in ad revenue on iOS/MacOS (for the year). There should be nothing wrong with Google sharing their advertising revenue made on an ecosystem, with the company that makes that ecosystem possible. I'm sure that if this deal was not a good ROI( Return of Investment) for Google, they would reduce the amount of revenue sharing.

This is not a case of Google using their monopoly power to force Apple into making Google search the default on Safari. This is not a case in which Google welding their monopoly power to force Apple into having Google as the only search engine choice on Safari. And because Apple is not a competitor in the search engine market, Google is not making an illegal deal to not compete with a competitor. One can't make a illegal deal to not compete, with a company that is already not competing with you. (Maybe in the EU, but not in the US)

What's next? Should the DoJ go after big companies like Coca Cola, Anheuser Busch, Pepsi Co, Chase, Visa, Yum! and others major brand for paying millions of dollars for a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl, just because it's an unfair advantage to their smaller competitors that can't afford to? Shouldn't the NFL be allow to charge as much as advertisers are willing pay, to place an ad during one of the most watched sporting events of the year? (and most likely the most watched in the US). If advertising during the Super Bowl is not a good ROI, ads wouldn't cost as much as it does. What if the government stepped in and made it some bogus anti-trust issue for corporations with big market shares to buy ads during the Super Bowl because they see it as an unfair competitive advantage that big corporations have over their smaller competitors? How is it fair to the NFL that the government would deny them the right to profit from customers that are willing to pay the most, to advertise during their Super Bowl?

omasou · October 31, 2023 12:35PM

kkee said:

Google is still the best search engine, even the word 'google' is synonym to web search. Yes, plenty of other alternatives, and switching is easy. But Apple always has a soft spot for the the best.

No it isn't and all have similar biasses.

Search engines return what they "thinks" I want and not what I search for. The AI are too marketing focused and not researched (find obscure/hard to find stuff on the Internet) focused.

Apple deal makes Google "seamless and easy" to use -- CEO

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