This was certainly not a
story that we expected to see pop up on the news wire, not because it
isn't an interesting story, and something that we'd like to know about,
but because we are now almost 5 years into the life of the iPhone, and
only now is the FTC asking for details on the deal that made Google the
default search on the iPhone (and all iOS devices eventually).
The
subpoena from the FTC wants to know if Google got any sort of
preferential treatment in the deal, and the terms of the deal will be
part of the FTC's ongoing antitrust inquisition into Google. According
to sources from AllThingsD, there have been other manufacturers also
questioned about the use of Google search on mobile devices.
This
is all part of the ongoing investigation into Google's possible
monopoly in the search market. Of course, Google only holds about 66% of
the search market share in the US, and traditionally monopolies must
hold over 70%, which Google hasn't done in some time. Still, the mobile
space is booming right now, and between Android and iOS, Google does
hold quite a sizable chunk of the defaults on mobile browsers.
We've
always been curious about the details of the deal that made Google the
default on the iPhone (and kept it that way even after Android continued
to take away Apple's market share). Maybe we'll get to find out soon.
source: Bloomberg & AllThingsD via The Next Web
