By Tim Hardwick, MacRumors
Apple has an agreement with Google that it won’t develop its own internet search engine so long as Google pays it to remain the default option in Safari, a new class action alleges.
Filed in a California court earlier this week against Apple, Google, and their respective CEOs, the lawsuit alleges the two companies have a non-compete agreement in the internet search business that violates US antitrust laws.
Specifically, the complaint charges Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai of participating in “regular secret meetings” in which Google agrees to share its profits with Apple if it is given preferential treatment on devices like the iPhone and iPad.
The class action also alleges that Google pays Apple annual multi-billion-dollar payments based on an agreement that Apple won’t launch its own competing search engine, and that the non-compete agreement includes plans to actively suppress smaller competitors and acquire actual and potential competitors.
