Google and Apple’s $20 billion search deal survives

Google volition beryllium capable to support making hunt deals similar its $20 cardinal statement to beryllium the default enactment successful Apple’s Safari browser, a national territory tribunal justice ruled successful the US v. Google antitrust lawsuit connected Tuesday. Executives from some Apple and Firefox-made Mozilla person defended their hunt deals with Google, with Mozilla’s CFO testifying that Firefox mightiness beryllium doomed without the woody successful place.

“Google volition not beryllium barred from making payments oregon offering different information to organisation partners for preloading oregon placement of Google Search, Chrome, oregon its GenAI products,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote. “Cutting disconnected payments from Google astir surely volition enforce substantial—in immoderate cases, crippling—downstream harms to organisation partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a wide outgo ban,” Mehta said.

Google besides won’t person to amusement prime screens connected its products, according to the ruling. The determinations were made arsenic portion of a broader remedies ruling that does not unit Google to divest Chrome oregon Android, which the Justice Department had wanted. Google will, however, person to stock immoderate hunt information with competitors.

Last year, Judge Mehta ruled that Google was a monopolist successful the hunt and advertizing markets, and this caller ruling followed a remedies trial. Google plans to appeal.