A Warning Shot: Google’s Payments to Apple Could Still Be Banned in Future

While Google and Apple celebrated the preservation of their multi-billion dollar search deal, the judge’s ruling contained a stark warning: the arrangement is not permanently safe. Judge Amit Mehta explicitly left the door open to banning the payments in the future if the current set of remedies fails to restore competition.
In his written decision, the judge described his approach as allowing “market forces to do the work” for now. He stated, “For now, Google will be permitted to pay distributors for default placement.” The inclusion of “for now” is a critical qualifier that puts both companies on notice.
Judge Mehta made it clear that he is “prepared to revisit a payment ban (or a lesser remedy) if competition is not substantially restored.” This creates a probationary period for the search market. The effectiveness of the new rules, such as enhanced choice on iPhones and Google’s data sharing, will be under judicial scrutiny.
This forward-looking threat gives the ruling more teeth than it might appear to have at first glance. It transforms the decision from a final resolution into an ongoing experiment. If competitors fail to gain ground in the coming years, the Department of Justice could find a much more receptive ear in court for its proposal to cut the financial cord between Google and Apple.