Google pays Apple a share of revenue generated from Chrome search traffic, according to a new report from The Register.
Revenue share reveal. In a 356-page report, published June 10, 2022, there was a key redaction:
According to The Register, that redacted word is “Chrome.” And it was redacted from another section of the CMA’s report:
Why we care. Almost every year, we’ve heard rumors about Apple finally unveiling its own search engine to compete with Google. Yet it has never happened. Could this be a – or the – reason why? Is Google essentially paying Apple not to become a search competitor and thus, both are maintaining their status quo?
Maintaining dominance? It’s impossible to deny Google and Apple have a mutually beneficial relationship. And there’s further theory to be found about how important that relationship is within this antitrust lawsuit, which alleges:
What isn’t new. Google has paid Apple billions of dollars over the years to remain the default search option on Apple devices. What started as a $1 billion dollar deal has grown to be worth an estimated $15 billion annually (in 2021) to Apple.
We’ve covered the evolution of the Google-Apple search deal in prior years:
- 2010: Google & Apple Extend Search Deal, Emerge As “Frenemies” Not “Froes”
- 2013: Financial Analyst Affirms Google’s $1 Billion In “Default Search” Payments To Apple
- 2016: Court Documents Show Google Paid Apple $1 Billion For Safari Default Placement
- 2017: Analyst: Google’s default search deal worth $3 billion to frenemy Apple
- 2018: Report: Google to pay Apple $9 billion to remain default search engine on Safari
Read the story. More details in What Brit watchdog redacted: Google gives Apple cut of Chrome iOS search revenue by Thomas Claburn.
