Google allegedly pays Apple USD 12 Billion to be the default search engine in its products!

Apple reportedly receives 8 to 12 billion US dollars from Google to be the default search engine across all products.

Google is facing an anti-trust lawsuit from US Justice Department

Unlikely union of two rivals?

According to The New York Times, The United States Justice Department is planning a profitable deal between Apple and Google. This is a part of one of the U.S. government's biggest antitrust cases.

Few days ago, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google about the claim that it utilized anticompetitive and exclusionary practices. This is said to result in maintaining an illegal monopoly in search and advertising markets.

Apple updated an agreement last 2017 to keep Google's search engine as the preselected choice on Apple products.  Google is claimed to be making its single largest payment to Apple in exchange for its position as the default browser engine. The said payment accounts for 14 to 21 percent of Apple's yearly revenue.

The Justice Department said that Apple devices are the source of almost 50 percent of Google's search traffic. Due to its system of ads, the search traffic is essential to its business model

Apple is also under scrutiny regarding the issue since it allegedly enables anticompetitive behaviour. It acquired a large sum of money through the process. Even they are tagged as competitors in Silicon Valley, the arrangement made them work together discreetly. A senior employee from Apple even gave a testimony to the Justice Department that their company has a vision that seems like they are working with Google as one.

The intervention between the two companies will cause a huge loss to their revenue, especially for Google. The source predicts that the breakup will push Apple to establish its own search engine that could be a bigger threat to Google.

Source: MacRumors