In a recent disclosure during the US Justice Department's antitrust trial, Alphabet's Google has been revealed to pay Apple approximately 36% of the revenue generated from search advertising through the Safari browser. This revelation, made by Alphabet's chief economics expert Kevin Murphy, has unveiled long-guarded details of the enduring partnership between the two tech giants. The disclosure triggered a response from Google's chief litigator, John Schmidtlein, as both companies had initially resisted publicly sharing specifics about their agreement.

Highlights:

Revenue Sharing Revelation: The ongoing US Justice Department antitrust trial uncovered that Google pays Apple a substantial 36% of the revenue generated from search advertising via the Safari browser.

Long-Standing Partnership: Dating back to 2002, the collaboration between Google and Apple, where Google became the default search engine for Apple's Safari, has evolved into a crucial alliance, especially given its role in the popular iPhone.

Antitrust Scrutiny: The Justice Department is scrutinizing the Google-Apple partnership, investigating whether it serves as evidence of Google unlawfully maintaining dominance in both search engine and search advertising markets.

The Google-Apple partnership, established in 2002, designated Google as the default search engine in Apple's Safari browser. Over the years, this collaboration has gained increasing significance for Google, particularly as it positions the search engine for the widely used iPhone in the United States.

The Justice Department is currently scrutinizing this partnership as potential evidence of Google unlawfully maintaining dominance in both the search engine and search advertising markets. Despite attempts to keep their agreement confidential, the revelation of the 36% revenue-sharing arrangement has raised concerns about the dynamics of the Google-Apple alliance.

In response to the scrutiny, Google argued in a recent court filing that disclosing additional details about the deal could "unreasonably undermine Google’s competitive standing in relation to both competitors and other counterparties." The unfolding antitrust trial is shedding light on the intricacies of the tech industry's relationships and their potential impact on market competition.