Written by Judy Godoy
(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc's Google (NASDAQ:) on Friday proposed relaxing its agreements with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:) and others to make Google the default search engine on new devices to address a U.S. ruling that it illegally dominates online search. .
The proposal is much narrower than the government's attempt to get Google to sell its Chrome browser in an antitrust case over online search.
Google Inc. urged U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington to move cautiously in deciding what the company must do to restore competition after ruling that the company illegally monopolizes online search and related advertising.
While Google plans to appeal this ruling at the end of the case, it says the next phase of “remedies” should focus on distribution agreements with browser developers, mobile device manufacturers, and wireless carriers.
The judge found that the agreements give Google “a significant and largely invisible advantage over its competitors” and result in most devices in the United States being pre-loaded with Google's search engine.
The judge said the agreements are difficult to break, especially for Android manufacturers, which must agree to install Google Search in order to include the Google Play Store on their devices.
To fix that, Google could make it non-exclusive and, for Android phone makers, separate its Play Store from Chrome and Search, the company said in court papers.
Contrary to the government's proposal, Google will not end revenue sharing agreements, which transfer a portion of the advertising revenue Google earns from search users to the hardware and software companies that offer it as the default search engine.
independent (LON:) Browser developers, including Mozilla, which makes Firefox, have said the money is crucial to their operations. Apple received an estimated $20 billion from its agreement with Google in 2022 alone.
Google's proposal sets the stage for a trial that Mehta will convene in April, in which the US Justice Department and a coalition of states will seek to show the need for broad solutions, including forcing Google to sell the Chrome browser and possibly the Android mobile operating system. .
Prosecutors also want Google to stop paying to be the default search engine, stop investing in search competitors and query-based AI products, and license its search results and technology to competitors.
Prosecutors say the proposals are intended to spur innovation in online search, with Mehta finding that Google's overwhelming market share prevents competitors from collecting the search data needed to improve their products. The plaintiffs are also seeking to prevent Google from extending its dominance in search to artificial intelligence.
