One of the assertions in the “United States v. Google” 2020 antitrust case against Google is that Google acts as a monopolist in paying $26 billion annually to Apple and others to be the default search app on iOS devices, for example, sharing ad revenue resulting from searches on those devices and operating systems.
Some of us might simply note that it is very easy to change a default browser or search engine, but others will point out that few users (less than five percent) actually seem to do so. Assuming Alphabet knows its business better than we casual users do, paying to be the default search engine pays off.
The issue is whether that is monopolistic behavior, if business partners and users benefit, and if users largely use Google search because they consider it the best app in the category.
So here’s the irony. If, in the penalty phase of the trial, Google is forced to stop paying for exclusive placement as the default search engine on Apple and other devices or operating systems, it might well avoid paying the ad share fees, but remain the dominant search engine, based simply on user preference for it.
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