{"id":390006,"date":"2022-01-05T21:27:05","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T18:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/google-and-apples-unholy-search-alliance-faces-another-antitrust-suit\/"},"modified":"2022-01-05T21:27:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T18:27:05","slug":"google-and-apples-unholy-search-alliance-faces-another-antitrust-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/google-and-apples-unholy-search-alliance-faces-another-antitrust-suit\/","title":{"rendered":"#Google and Apple\u2019s unholy search alliance faces another antitrust suit"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Google and App<\/a>le\u2019s unholy search alliance faces another antitrust suit<\/strong>”
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Google and Apple are the best of frenemies. While the tech giants threaten \u201cthermonuclear wars\u201d<\/a> over smartphone conflicts, they also quietly declare ceasefires for good causes \u2014 and big profits.<\/p>\n

A prominent example of these truces is on the search battlefield. Google pays Apple big bucks to remain the default search engine on iOS devices \u2014 $8 billion to $12 billion a year,<\/span>\u00a0according to the US Justice Department<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A new lawsuit has shone the spotlight on this mutual-defense treaty. The antitrust case alleges<\/a> that\u00a0Google, Apple, and their respective CEOs have violated US antitrust laws in their non-compete agreement.<\/p>\n

The complaint claims that the companies agreed that Apple wouldn\u2019t develop its own search engine to compete with Google\u2019s. In exchange, the Big G would give a share of its search profits \u2014 and billions of extra dollars \u2014 to the iPhone-maker.<\/p>\n

According to the filing, Apple also agreed to make Google the only search engine that\u2019s automatically included in all the Cupertino firm\u2019s devices.<\/p>\n

This arrangement allegedly gave Google \u201ca substantial and unfair anti-competitive advantage over other search providers\u201d including Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and Bing \u2014 while also eliminating Apple as a potential rival. The suit claims these agreements were made during \u201cprivate, secret, and clandestine personal meetings\u201d \u2014 some of which were caught on camera.<\/p>\n

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it’s a good restaurant when Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are in the same place ! #apple<\/a>#google<\/a>#entrepreneurship<\/a>#siliconvalley<\/a>#paloalto<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/nql8FutjNE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve D. Sims (@SteveDSims) March 8, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The plaintiff, the California Crane School, claims that the rates it pays for advertising on Google have been inflated by the \u201cconspiracy.\u201d It\u2019s called \u2014 somewhat optimistically \u2014 for an end to the agreement and for the companies to be broken up.<\/span><\/p>\n

That sounds like wishful thinking. If the search deal is a secret, it\u2019s not exactly a well-kept one. Google has openly defended the arrangement with Apple<\/a>, which it says isn\u2019t exclusive, has passed antitrust reviews, and allows users to choose a different default search engine. Apple has also acknowledged the deal with Google.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir search engine is the best,\u201d Apple CEO Tim Cook told Axios on HBO<\/a> in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

These arguments haven\u2019t repelled criticism of the partnership, however.<\/p>\n

In addition to the new complaint, the deal is at the heart of a lawsuit filed by US Justice Department<\/a>. The DOJ alleges that Google has \u201cunlawfully maintained monopolies in search and search advertising.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Justice Department Sues Monopolist Google For Violating Antitrust Laws<\/p>\n

Department Files Complaint Against Google to Restore Competition in Search and Search Advertising Marketshttps:\/\/t.co\/JTFDO5kJ9d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) October 20, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The search treatise between the rivals is certainly mutually beneficial.<\/p>\n

Apple gets up to 20% of its $260 billion of worldwide income from the partnership with Google, according to US government documents reviewed by NPR<\/a> in 2020. Google, meanwhile, gets nearly half of its search traffic from Apple devices.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the relationship is so important that a senior Apple employee told a Google counterpart that \u201cour vision is that we work as if we are one company,\u201d the DOJ said in its suit.<\/p>\n

While the lawsuits rumble on, it\u2019s heartening to know that even bitter enemies can put aside their differences for the greater good. And by \u201cgood,\u201d I of course mean \u201cprofit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n