Google’s pre-existing antitrust case has brought to light some very enlightening information.
The company admitted to making big payments to South Korean tech giant Samsung to have its AI app called Gemini preinstalled across all smartphones. The news was first published by Bloomberg, and the data is a part of the existing lawsuit against it.
The company’s VP for platform testified in the courtroom that it started paying Samsung for the feature starting this year. The pair of firms currently has contracts in place that would run for nearly two years.
Speaking to the judge, Google admitted to giving both fixed checks on a monthly basis and also a chunk of the revenue it makes through advertisers inside the Gemini platform. The exact figures are yet to be determined, but as per the DOJ lawyer, it’s a huge amount as part of a monthly deal.
The whole antitrust lawsuit against Google began with a single accusation about Google abusing the industry with its monopoly power to stifle competition in the search world. Part of this testimony involving the case had to do with the tech giant paying big names like Samsung, Apple, and more to make sure its Google app remained the top choice for search engine preference.
The judge agreed and also found such practice a clear violation of the whole antitrust law. For now, the court is trying to determine what remedies should be taken to reverse this role, and that’s where the bombshell revelation arose surrounding Gemini.
Testimonies from other cases involving Epic Games pointed to Google handing nearly $8B from 2020 to 2023 to make Google Search the default option for Android devices. The same goes for Google Assistant on Samsung phones.
Soon after that, we saw the federal judge from California share how the organization needs to lift any restrictions that stop rival markets and billing systems from interfering. Right now, the Android maker would like to make an appeal against the ruling.
The latest testimony of Google and its deals with Samsung isn’t helping the company, which is already swimming in deep waters, thanks to its antitrust case.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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The company admitted to making big payments to South Korean tech giant Samsung to have its AI app called Gemini preinstalled across all smartphones. The news was first published by Bloomberg, and the data is a part of the existing lawsuit against it.
The company’s VP for platform testified in the courtroom that it started paying Samsung for the feature starting this year. The pair of firms currently has contracts in place that would run for nearly two years.
Speaking to the judge, Google admitted to giving both fixed checks on a monthly basis and also a chunk of the revenue it makes through advertisers inside the Gemini platform. The exact figures are yet to be determined, but as per the DOJ lawyer, it’s a huge amount as part of a monthly deal.
The whole antitrust lawsuit against Google began with a single accusation about Google abusing the industry with its monopoly power to stifle competition in the search world. Part of this testimony involving the case had to do with the tech giant paying big names like Samsung, Apple, and more to make sure its Google app remained the top choice for search engine preference.
The judge agreed and also found such practice a clear violation of the whole antitrust law. For now, the court is trying to determine what remedies should be taken to reverse this role, and that’s where the bombshell revelation arose surrounding Gemini.
Testimonies from other cases involving Epic Games pointed to Google handing nearly $8B from 2020 to 2023 to make Google Search the default option for Android devices. The same goes for Google Assistant on Samsung phones.
Soon after that, we saw the federal judge from California share how the organization needs to lift any restrictions that stop rival markets and billing systems from interfering. Right now, the Android maker would like to make an appeal against the ruling.
The latest testimony of Google and its deals with Samsung isn’t helping the company, which is already swimming in deep waters, thanks to its antitrust case.
Read next: Google U-Turns on Cookie Policy, Adopts Status Quo for Chrome User Tracking
