A U.S. court has decided that the agreement between Google and Apple will continue. This development has made a significant impact in the industry.
Google has won the right to maintain its $20 billion agreement with Apple in the antitrust case in the U.S. The federal district court ruled that Google can continue paying Apple to be the default search engine on Safari.
The agreement between Google and Apple will continue.
Judge Amit Mehta stated that banning Google’s payments to its distribution partners would have serious consequences. He pointed out that such a ban would not only affect the companies but also markets and consumers. As a result, Google was allowed to continue making payments.
This decision directly affects not only Apple but also companies like Mozilla that have similar agreements with Google. Previously, Mozilla’s CFO had mentioned that without such an agreement, Firefox could face challenges.
The court also ruled that Google is not required to display a preference screen in its products. As a result, users will not have to choose a search engine when they first set up their devices, and Google will remain the default. However, the decision is not a complete victory for Google, as the company will have to share some of its search data with competitors.
The same judge who declared Google a monopoly last year made this decision as part of the “remedies” process. Google plans to appeal the ruling.
While this decision provides temporary relief to Google’s business model, the company’s legal battle is far from over. The court’s declaration of Google as a monopoly, yet allowing the agreement to continue, shows that the judiciary is seeking a balance between market competition and existing business agreements. It’s still unclear how the judicial process will ultimately play out.
