Google's antitrust trial document revealed that the company paid a huge sum of $26.3 billion, in 2021, to ensure the position of its search engine as the default option on phones and web browsers.
According to Bloomberg Law, the Justice Department said that by spending an exorbitant amount of money to maintain its default status, Google is ensuring that the market is “non-competitive” with other search engines.
Prabhakar Raghavan, senior vice president and head of search at Google, revealed the huge numbers during his testimony, according to Bloomberg Law.
A judicial document published on Friday revealed that the giant technology company paid its partners, such as Apple, to keep its search engine as a preferred option on their devices.
“I feel a strong feeling not to become the next killer,” Raghavan told the New York Times on Thursday. “If we become second-rate, we become irrelevant over time.”
He claimed that Amazon is one of Google's two strongest competitors, and said that the company has remained ahead of it and other search engines by relentlessly increasing its research and development. Raghavan also stressed that Google is still the number one search engine, due to its quality and ease of use, adding that users can replace it with other engines such as Bing or DuckDuckGo from Microsoft if they so choose.
“As I constantly remind my team, no one wakes up every morning and says I have to do a Google search,” Raghavan told The Times. “They simply go to the service that best suits their needs.”
The US Department of Justice and a group of prosecutors accused Google of abusing its market power in public search by using its influence to prevent its competitors from accessing major distribution channels, such as Apple's Safari web browser.
The $26.3 billion payment was not specified to any partner, but Apple is likely to be the largest beneficiary.
Bernstein Research estimated that Google could pay Apple up to $19 billion this year for default mode on Apple devices.
The court document also showed revenues and costs for Google's search business, which is called "Google Search+ Margins." The document shows that the search division earned more than $146 billion in 2021, while traffic acquisition costs (TAC) amounted to more than $26 billion.
The document also provided historical data dating back to 2014, when Google's search division generated about $47 billion in revenue and paid about $7.1 billion in traffic acquisition costs. This means that Search+ revenues nearly tripled between 2014 and 2021, while the total amount increased nearly four-fold.
Google's payments to make it the default search engine come weeks after Bernstein analysts reported that the company paid Apple nearly $18 billion in 2021 to keep Chrome as the default engine on Mac, iPad, and Android devices. "iPhone". The report, shared with The Register, estimates that Google's revenues represent between 14% and 16% of Apple's annual operating profits.
Meta imposes new fees on Facebook and Instagram users in Europe!
Meta is launching an “ad-free” subscription option next month for people who use Facebook or Instagram in Europe.
The company said it complies with “evolving European regulations” by offering the option to opt in to the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
It also revealed that, starting in November, users will be able to choose to continue using Facebook or Instagram for free with ads, or subscribe to stop seeing ads.
The cost will range from 9.99 euros per month ($10.58) on the web, to 12.99 euros per month ($13.75) on iOS and Android devices, and applies to linked user accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Starting March 1, 2024, additional fees of €6 per month for the web version and €8 per month for mobile access will apply to additional accounts.
Meta's core business has long been providing free social networking services to users and selling advertising to companies that want to reach that audience.
The paid tier provision is an example of how companies like Meta have had to redesign products to comply with data privacy rules and other government policies, especially in Europe.
In a statement on Monday, Meta said it is committed to keeping people's information private and secure, but believes in an "ad-supported Internet" that provides users with personalized products and services, while also allowing small businesses to reach potential customers.
Meta also said: “We respect the spirit and intent of these evolving European regulations, and we are committed to complying with them.”
It confirmed that it will continue to provide free access to its products to people who do not wish to pay.
The ad-free subscription will only be available to people aged 18 or older in the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland.