Google is paying $26 billion to keep this arrangement “hidden”.

Only in 2021, Google paid Apple, Samsung and other companies $26.3 billion to keep a setting in smartphones and web browsers hidden.

This setting affects who can track your location and see what you search for online. It relates to the information you see and the percentage of the screen taken up by ads. Google pays phone, laptop and browser manufacturers to make it the default and not give other options during installation.

The US Department of Justice and US states sued Google three years ago, alleging that maintains an illegal monopoly on online search and advertising markets. In addition, the plaintiffs argue that Google’s agreements with Apple and other technology companies prevent competitors from claiming an equal share of searches and improving their services.

Google maintains that it always operates within the legitimate framework of competition and that consumers prefer its tools because they are the best and not because it has moved to limit competition.

Google’s search service accounts for more than half of the $283 billion in revenue and $76 billion in net income that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, will record in 2022. Google Search has fueled the company’s growth to a market capitalization of more than 1.7 trillion dollars.

Industry experts estimate that if Google loses, legally, new restrictions may be imposed on the way the company operates.

With information from Washington Post, Reuters