Yeah, Google, Meta, Amazon, and probably others really need to get broken up and get proper antitrust treatment. I say this even as someone who holds stock (like a total of 5 shares, so not much) in a couple of those. I used to dream of working at Google as well, but that dream died quite some time ago based on their actions and culture.
To frame this question differently, why is Apple able to sell default access on their devices?
Quick math shows Apple makes ~100 Billion per year. The article states Google pays ~20 Billion to Apple per year. That’s a significant value to Apple.
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with the decision, but curious how Google paying Apple is a monopoly, but Apple offering search to the highest bidder isn’t also a problem (or maybe it is).
As another example, how well did the EU browser choice ruling have on consumers choosing a browser.