Google paid $26.3 billion in 2021 to remain the default search engine on mobile devices and web browsers, a court heard.
This surfaced during a federal antitrust trial against the tech giant.
Lawyers provided a detailed breakdown of Google’s expenditures in its various partnerships.
Apple, a prominent player in this arrangement, is speculated to be the primary recipient of these payments.
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The US Department of Justice, along with state attorneys general, alleges Google has unlawfully fortified its monopoly in general search.
The firm is accused of exploiting its dominant position to exclude competitors from vital distribution channels.
The most notable of these is Apple’s Safari web browser.
However, Google argues users have the freedom to change their default search engine.
But the lump sums it funnels into partnerships with distributors highlights the lengths it goes to maintain the supremacy of its search engine.
The DOJ complaint reads: “Google pays billions of dollars each year to distributors—including popular-device manufacturers such as Apple, LG, Motorola, and Samsung; major U.S. wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon; and browser developers such as Mozilla, Opera, and UCWeb—to secure default status for its general search engine and, in many cases, to specifically prohibit Google’s counterparties from dealing with Google’s competitors,”
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A slide shown during the trial also revealed that Google’s search division amassed over $146 billion in revenue in 2021.
Its traffic acquisition costs amounted to over $26 billion.
These figures signify remarkable growth compared to 2014.
In that year, the division’s revenue stood at roughly $47 billion.
Google’s outlay for default status was around $7.1 billion.
A Google spokesperson declined to comment.
An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
