Google's $18 Billion Annual Payment to Apple for Prime Search Engine Placement Draws Scrutiny, Plans to Leverage EU Law Revealed

Documents reveal Google's intentions to undermine Apple's search technology and use the new EU Digital Markets Act to its advantage, potentially tripling the number of European iPhone users who select Chrome as their default browser.

• Google pays approximately $18 billion annually to Apple for its search engine to be the default on Safari, preventing Apple from creating its own search engine.
• Google is exploring ways to use the EU Digital Markets Act to undermine Apple's default browser, Safari, and increase the number of Google Chrome users.
• Executives at Google have reportedly been strategizing how Google can have more access to data on the iPhone and seeking ways of reducing its reliance on Apple's Safari browser.
• Google plans to lobby EU regulators to crack the controlled ecosystem of Apple, which could triple the number of European iPhone users who choose Chrome as their default browser.
• The EU Digital Markets Act will compel Apple to allow more competition on their platform, which Google plans to exploit to siphon users from Safari and Spotlight.

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