Google pays Apple 36% of earnings from ads on Safari because of search deal, reveals expert

In a surprising revelation during the Justice Department’s antitrust trial against Google in Washington, Kevin Murphy, the main economics expert for Alphabet Inc.’s Google, disclosed on Monday that the company pays Apple Inc. a substantial 36 per cent of the revenue generated from search advertising through the Safari browser.

John Schmidtlein, Google’s chief litigator, visibly reacted with discomfort when Murphy disclosed the previously confidential percentage. Both Google and Apple had expressed objections to publicly revealing the specifics of their agreement.

In a recent court filing, Google argued that disclosing additional details about the deal would unreasonably compromise the company’s competitive position with respect to both competitors and other business partners.

The partnership between Google and Apple dates back to 2002, establishing Google as the default search engine in Apple’s Safari browser. Google has been Apple’s default choice not just for the iPhone, but for iPads, MacBooks and older Mac systems as well.

Presently, this agreement holds significant importance among Google’s default deals, as it dictates the default search engine on the iPhone, the most widely used smartphone in the United States.

The Justice Department is specifically targeting this long-standing agreement as evidence that Google is unlawfully preserving its dominance in both the search engine and search advertising markets.

As of now, neither Apple nor Google has provided immediate comments in response to these revelations. The trial continues to unfold, shedding light on the intricacies of the tech giants’ agreements and their implications for competition in the industry.

(With input from agencies)