The US v. Google antitrust trial is about many issues, however greater than something, it is concerning the energy of defaults. Even when it is easy to change browsers or platforms or engines like google, the one which seems once you flip it on issues so much. Google clearly agrees and has paid a staggering quantity to ensure it’s the default: testimony within the trial revealed that Google spent a complete of $26.3 billion in 2021 to be the default search engine in a number of browsers, telephones, and platforms. From a report: That quantity, the sum complete of all of Google’s search distribution offers, got here out throughout the Justice Division’s cross-examination of Google’s search head, Prabhakar Raghavan. It was made public after a debate earlier within the week between the 2 sides and Decide Amit Mehta over whether or not the determine needs to be redacted. Mehta has begun to push for extra openness within the trial on the whole, and this was probably the most important new items of knowledge to be shared brazenly.
Simply to place that $26.3 billion in context: Alphabet, Google’s dad or mum firm, introduced in its current earnings report that Google Search advert enterprise introduced in about $44 billion over the past three months and about $165 billion within the final yr. Its whole advert enterprise — which additionally consists of YouTube adverts — made a bit beneath $90 billion in revenue. That is all back-of-the-napkin math, however basically, Google is giving up about 16 % of its search income and about 29 % of its revenue to these distribution offers.
