Microsoft executives tried to sell the company’s Bing search engine to Apple around 2020, pitching the deal as a way for the iPhone maker to replace Google as the default search engine in Apple’s Safari browser, Bloomberg reported. The talks never reached an advanced stage, according to the report.
The revelation comes as the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to prove to a federal judge that Google violated antitrust laws by abusing its dominance over the search market. Google’s deal with Apple to share ad revenue in exchange for default status in Safari, and whether that agreement made it impossible for challengers like Bing to compete, have been a key part of the ongoing antitrust trial in Washington. Microsoft’s alleged sale effort appears to bolster the government’s contention that Google locked up the market to the point where its top competitor was willing to throw in the towel. It also shows that Apple, the world’s most valuable company, preferred to stick with the Google deal than pick a costly battle in search.
https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/microsoft-reportedly-tried-to-sell-bing-to-apple-in-2020
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