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Google has acknowledged that it compensated Samsung with “enormous sums of money” for preinstalling its AI application, Gemini, on Samsung devices. While the company strives to address antitrust allegations, its practice of making such payments could be in violation of antitrust laws. The existing contract spans two years and guarantees fixed monthly payments for each device that features Gemini, alongside a revenue-sharing model based on the app’s advertisement earnings.
Amid ongoing legal challenges, Google faces scrutiny from the Justice Department regarding alleged antitrust violations within the technology sector. Recent disclosures have emerged during this federal trial. According to DOJ attorney David Dahlquist, Google has been remitting substantial monthly payments to Samsung since January 2024, as reported by Bloomberg.
Although specific figures remain undisclosed, these payments are made in exchange for the preinstallation of Gemini on Samsung devices. Peter Fitzgerald, Google’s VP of platforms and device partnerships, confirmed during his testimony that the contract is structured for two years, entailing monthly payments for each device preinstalling Gemini. Additionally, Samsung will receive a share of the revenue generated from advertisements within the app.
This is not the first instance of Google compensating Samsung to preinstall applications. The tech giant previously paid Samsung $8 billion to secure the default settings for Google Play Store, Assistant, and Search between 2020 and 2023.
Judge Amit Mehta, who is presiding over the case, revealed last year that Google’s practice of financially incentivizing companies to set its apps as defaults on Samsung phones constitutes a clear breach of antitrust laws. The DOJ has proposed remedies that would restrict Google from making payments to partners to designate its search engine as the default, a policy that might extend to its AI products like Gemini, which the DOJ claims maintain a monopoly.
In light of these allegations, Fitzgerald noted that competitors such as Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI have also approached Samsung with “competitive offers” to establish their AI solutions as defaults on its devices. He emphasized that Google considered these alternatives during negotiations and made modifications to its agreement, allowing Samsung the freedom to explore other AI applications for its devices. Furthermore, Google has eliminated its requirement for Samsung to solely pre-install Google Search and Assistant.
Internal documents revealed during the trial indicate that Google may extend its contract with Samsung until 2028, potentially designating Gemini as the exclusive AI platform on upcoming Galaxy devices. This could create barriers for competing AI companies and result in Samsung users inevitably favoring Gemini, which would be preinstalled on their devices, thereby fostering an anticompetitive marketplace.
To mitigate these concerns, the DOJ has proposed measures that could involve separating Chrome from the Android ecosystem and suggesting the possible divestment of Chrome. They also recommended unlinking Android from Google Search and Play without enforcing a sale. Should the trial result unfavorably for Google, it may significantly alter user interactions with its products and reshape collaborations within the tech industry.
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