A new class action lawsuit filed in the United States alleges that Apple and Google violated competition regulation laws in agreements that keep Google's search engine as the default on Apple's gadgets - echoing a charge the U.S. Department of Justice made in 2020.
More than that, the suit claims that there is a secret agreement in which Google pays Apple not to create its own search engine - and that Apple would give preferential treatment to Google on all its devices.
In doing so, the companies allegedly "worked together to suppress competition from smaller competitors." The plaintiffs also claim that because of the alleged collusion, advertising rates are higher than in other markets.
The suit seeks restitution for Google's billion-dollar payments to Apple and demands an injunction prohibiting the non-compete agreement between the companies, preferential treatment on Apple devices, and the alleged payment for Apple's failure to create a search engine.Evidence shows that only a few meetings (in person) have occurred between the CEOs1 of Apple and Google in the last decade. Furthermore, both companies claim that payments for Google to be the default search engine on iOS are for that purpose only, and that users can select other search services if they prefer.
Also, contrary to what the lawsuit claims, Apple has its own advertising business that it uses in the App Store. It also has its own search engine that it uses in Siri and Spotlight - which is not accessible from the web.
We will see what the next chapters in this further imbroglio will be...
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