A federal district court judge has ruled that Google can continue its search partnership agreements, including its $20 billion deal to be the default search engine in Apple’s Safari browser. This decision was made in the ongoing antitrust case, US v. Google. Executives from Apple and Mozilla, the organization behind the Firefox browser, have voiced support for these agreements. Mozilla’s Chief Financial Officer indicated that without its search deal with Google, Firefox could face significant challenges.
Judge Amit Mehta stated that Google is permitted to make financial agreements with distribution partners for the preloading or placement of its services, including Google Search and Chrome. He expressed concerns that prohibiting such payments could lead to serious negative consequences for distribution partners and consumers, thereby advising against an outright ban on payments.
Furthermore, Google will not be required to implement choice screens within its products as part of the ruling. This decision is part of a broader ruling on remedies, which ultimately does not require Google to divest its Chrome or Android platforms, despite the Justice Department’s request for such action. However, Google will have to share certain search data with its competitors as part of the ruling.
In a prior ruling last year, Judge Mehta had already classified Google as a monopolist within the search and advertising sectors. This latest ruling followed a remedies trial, and Google has indicated plans to appeal the decision.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/769599/google-apple-search-deal-us-doj-antitrust-case-remedies