Bipartisan SEARCH Act pushes to end Google's paid default search dominance

The SEARCH Act represents an aggressive shift from reactive antitrust litigation to proactive ex-ante regulation in the U.S. By banning the multibillion-dollar default payments that currently fund independent browsers like Firefox, the bill could force a total restructuring of the browser and mobile distribution markets. For the streaming and ad-tech ecosystem, this creates significant uncertainty around user acquisition funnels and search-driven discovery. If enacted, the resulting data-sharing mandates could commoditize search infrastructure, potentially lowering the barrier for AI-native competitors while simultaneously raising privacy concerns regarding the distribution of sensitive query data across multiple third-party providers. Watch for the bill's impact on Google’s pending appeal of Judge Amit Mehta’s recent monopoly ruling.

The introduction of the SEARCH Act follows Judge Amit Mehta’s landmark August 2024 ruling in U.S. v. Google, which found that the company’s exclusive distribution agreements illegally maintained its search monopoly. In December 2025, Judge Mehta issued a Final Judgment requiring Google to share search data and shortening the duration of its default contracts. However, according to Tech Policy Press in May 2026, those remedies were viewed by some critics as insufficient because they still allowed Google to outbid rivals for distribution. The SEARCH Act aims to codify more stringent prohibitions that federal courts have hesitated to impose unilaterally.

The legislation draws heavy inspiration from the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which began requiring similar choice screens in March 2024. Per official EU Commission reporting in July 2026, Google was recently fined nearly €900 million for non-compliance with DMA rules relating to self-preferencing in search results and steering on the Google Play Store. While European regulators claim the DMA is making markets fairer, some industry analysts argue the rules have made services more cumbersome; for instance, European hotel-ad bookings dropped 36% after Google was forced to remove integrated search tools.

Simultaneously, the financial stakes of these default deals remain massive. Estimates from 2024 and early 2025 suggest Google paid Apple approximately $20 billion annually to remain the default engine on iOS—a sum that accounted for roughly 17% of Apple’s operating income. For Mozilla, Google’s payments have historically represented over 80% of total revenue. If the SEARCH Act successfully bans these payments, independent tech players may be forced to adopt aggressive new monetization strategies, such as subscription models or increased advertising, to replace the lost distribution revenue.