Google’s antitrust lawsuit could end Apple’s search deal

Apple and Google have struck a lucrative deal to keep Google as the default search engine for the Safari web browser. But that deal could end as the Justice Department pursues an antitrust case targeting the Mountain View company.

Previous reports have revealed that Google pays Apple up to $20 billion per year to be the default search engine on the iPhone. So even if Apple isn’t on trial, if the DoJ finds that Google is illegally maintaining its dominance of the search engine and search advertising market, it could be bad news for Cupertino.

According to the latest report informationGoogle is trying to be less dependent on Apple to protect itself from this potential revenue decline. Google currently earns about $56 billion in ad revenue from Safari on the iPhone, which is about a quarter of all search revenue.

If a judge were to rule in favor of the antitrust lawsuit, Google would lose access to about 70% of iPhone searches. To prevent that, Google is working to reduce its reliance on its Apple deal.

For example, Mountain View is encouraging iPhone users to switch from Safari to Google apps and Chrome. The publication highlights some of the efforts to get users to make the switch, such as the Lens image search feature and the Discover feed.

Still, it seems like Google would rather a judge not accept the antitrust suit, since over the course of five years, Google has only managed to increase the percentage of iPhone searches via its own apps from 25% to about 30%.

Depending on the ruling against Google, it could also affect how Apple regulates default settings and competitive practices. In the EU, for example, Apple must give users the option to choose from several web browsers to decide which one will be their primary browser before they finish setting up their iPhone.

BGR We will continue to monitor this case and inform you as soon as we learn anything new.