Google and Apple’s $20 billion search deal survives

Google will be able to keep making search deals like its $20 billion agreement to be the default option in Apple’s Safari browser, a federal district court judge ruled in the US v. Google antitrust case on Tuesday. Executives from both Apple and Firefox-made Mozilla have defended their search deals with Google, with Mozilla’s CFO testifying that Firefox might be doomed without the deal in place.

“Google will not be barred from making payments or offering other consideration to distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or its GenAI products,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote. “Cutting off payments from Google almost certainly will impose substantial—in some cases, crippling—downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a broad payment ban,” Mehta said.

Google also won’t have to show choice screens on its products, according to the ruling. The determinations were made as part of a broader remedies ruling that does not force Google to divest Chrome or Android, which the Justice Department had wanted. Google will, however, have to share some search data with competitors.

Last year, Judge Mehta ruled that Google was a monopolist in the search and advertising markets, and this new ruling followed a remedies trial. Google plans to appeal.