Oct 27, 2023 17:55:00

Google was trying to exploit a loophole in the EU's ``digital markets law'' to crush Apple's proprietary search tool

The US Department of

Justice sued Google for violating antitrust laws, and it was revealed that the company paid a huge amount of money to Apple to protect its position as the iPhone's default search engine. Google was also found to have taken advantage of the EU's digital market law , which was designed to support small and medium-sized businesses, to gain an advantage over Apple's own search capabilities. The New York Times reports.

Inside Google's Plan to Stop Apple From Getting Serious About Search - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/technology/google-apple-search-spotlight.html

Google's search deal with Apple Safari is reportedly $18 billion a year - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23933206/google-apple-search-deal-safari-18-billion

Google will spend $18 billion in 2021 to become the iPhone's default search engine, according to two people who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity because they were not in a position to give their names. 700 billion yen) to Apple. Asset management company AllianceBernstein estimates that ``Google will pay Apple $18 billion to $20 billion a year (approximately 3 trillion yen),'' and this prediction turned out to be correct. This is the form that was revealed in the report.

Apple receives 3 trillion yen annually from Google as ``payment for adopting Google search'' - GIGAZINE

In the Justice Department v. Google case, Google denied the superiority of default search by stating, ``iPhone users can easily change the default search engine,'' but Google was chosen because of its quality. and claims that this is due to innovation.

However, this report showing that Google paid a large amount of money to be the default search engine for the iPhone's standard browser, Safari, once again highlights how important it is to maintain its dominance in the search business. became.

In addition, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who took the witness stand during the trial, pointed out that there was another aspect to this agreement between Apple and Google. That is, if Apple were to end its relationship with Google, Google would use popular apps such as Gmail and YouTube to promote Chrome and Google apps, and Safari, the search engine that Apple has adopted to replace Google Search. It is assumed that they will use tactics to steal users from.

Therefore, the IT news site The Verge commented that the deal between Google and Apple not onlybenefits both parties , but may also be a kind of ``peace treaty''.

Furthermore, internal Google documents obtained by The New York Times revealed that Google was trying to use EU digital market law to counter Spotlight, a search tool introduced by Apple. .

Spotlight is a search function built into iPhone, Mac, and iPad that allows you to search for apps and files on your device, as well as search the internet and check the weather forecast.

According to The New York Times, Google held a meeting in the fall of 2022 to discuss how to reduce Apple's dependence on Safari and how to use EU law to undermine Apple. This was made clear in the document. It is not known what Google executives decided at the meeting, but Google was considering various options, including how much of the data on the iPhone it would have access to.

At this time, Google focused on the digital market law enacted in the EU. The Digital Markets Act is aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises that compete against large IT companies. Under this law, large IT companies designated as 'gatekeepers' can open up their platforms to competitors and users. You will have to give them choices regarding the services they use.

Google planned to use this law to steal users away from Safari and Spotlight by lobbying EU regulators to force Apple to open up its software ecosystem. Google estimates that the number of iPhone users in the EU using Chrome will triple if users choose something other than Safari, allowing it to generate more search ad revenue and pay less to Apple. Become.

Also, Google was particularly concerned about Apple's Spotlight, and thought it had to counteract it somehow.

In-house presentation materials (PDF files) created in 2014 say about Spotlight, ``Conclusion: This is bad.''

In 2018, Apple poached John Gianandrea, a leading Google search executive, and expanded its Spotlight development team to strengthen its search capabilities. Improvements to search functionality in iOS 15, released in 2021, raised concerns within Google about Apple's moves in the search market, a person familiar with the matter said.

According to The New York Times, Google executives who were impatient with Spotlight's existence were thinking about how to persuade EU authorities to designate Spotlight as a search engine in 2022. If Spotlight were to be positioned as a search engine, Google would have an easier time competing with Spotlight, as the Digital Markets Act would require Apple to provide users with access to other search engines.

Gus Hurwitz, who studies technology competition at the University of Pennsylvania's Carey School of Law, told The New York Times, ``I believe that companies should offer better products and consumers should We want to compete on the merits that we want to use. We don't want to pay lawyers and create rules in the EU in order to access a competitor's platform.' did.