As per plaintiffs, Google pays Apple to prevent the iPhone maker from developing its own search engine, and also to stay on top in all the Apple devices. Further, the class action wants both the companies to break up as the Standard Oil company in past.
Class vs Google and Apple
As per reports, a class from the US has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the US tech companies – Google and Apple. In their allegation, the group mentions Google and Apple executives meeting in frequent secret meetings to make deals, which violate market competition rules and give them a fair advantage. More in detail, the class accused Google of entering a pact with Apple for staying as the top search engine in all Apple devices. Further, regular hefty payments are made to Apple for barring the iPhone maker from developing its own search engine. So, the class alleged that these practices suppressed the competition of smaller competitors, by making Google a superior search engine and pushing others effectively out of the market. Further, such practices have resulted in higher advertising rates than in a competitive system. Considering all these, the plaintiffs are now asking to court to interfere, and prohibit both the companies from doing so. Apart from canceling the so-called secret agreement for preferential treatment, the class demands a breakup of Google and Apple, referencing the Standard Oil Company from the early 20th century! Well, this seemed unreasonable, as the Standard Oil company that was broken apart under the Sherman Antitrust Act back then, had a controlling market share of 91% in oil production and about 84% of final oil and oil product sales in the US. Apple on the other hand has less than 50% in the US mobile market and less than 10% of the computing market. Further, Apple has its own search engine being used in Appstore, Siri, and Spotlight Searches across its devices, which rumors on a web version are afloat.
