Google is still fighting the US government in court over anti-trust allegations regarding its search engine, and one of the core issues is how Google prevents competition by paying Apple vast sums of money to make sure nobody else gets the prize of being the default search engine on Apple devices. How much money Google was giving the world's richest company was unknown, but thanks to this trial we now know it's "around US$18b" as of 2021. According to an investigation by the New York Times, this figure is so high because Google is petrified of Apple deciding to make its own search engine, which they hinted at with Spotlight on iOS "showing users richer web results like those they could have found on Google".
If you liked this tiny snippet of content from The Sizzle - Australia's favourite daily email containing the latest tech news & bargains - then sign up for a 30-day free trial below. No credit card required! Learn more about The Sizzle at https://thesizzle.com.au