On the second day of the Google antitrust trial, Apple filed a protest over its mishandling of secret data -- data that presumably involves how much Google paid the company to keep the iPhone's default search engine. The U.S. government is investigating Google for abuses of power as the search giant, led by Judge Amit Mehta. Key Apple executives have played a key role in the investigation because of financial dealings between Google and Apple surrounding search.
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According to the "Washington Post" report, during the public opening statements on Tuesday, the two sides shared some unknown secret information, and Apple has filed a confidentiality protest. Justice Department lawyer Kenneth Dintzer appears to have shared data on the public call that Apple and Google argue are trade secrets and should be protected by trial proceedings.
The report did not specify the relevant figures, but it was assumed to be what Ding Ze said: "In 2020, Google paid US$4 billion to US$7 billion under the ISA." The district attorney claimed this was public information and not confidential. The Information Services Agreement, or ISA, is the terms Google pays Apple to serve as its default search engine.
The judge accepted Apple's protest but chose to move forward with the trial. "It seems to me that everyone has been pretty diligent. There's a lot of material here," Judge Mehta said.
The remainder of the trial will be held behind closed doors because of the large amount of confidential trade information involved. The Justice Department will present its case over the next month, and then state attorneys general will have two weeks to make additional briefs.
Starting on October 25, Google will have three weeks to defend itself. It’s no secret that Google pays Apple a fee to remain the default search engine, but the exact amount is unclear. The estimate of $4 billion to $7 billion mentioned in the trial seems incredibly conservative, as the 2018 figure is rumored to be around $9.5 billion.
Since then, Google's payments appear to have been increasing, with $11 billion set to be paid out in 2020 and $15 billion in 2021. The government believes these incredible sums are part of Google's abuse of power and stifling competition.
The trial has just begun and will take months to resolve.