Google paid $26 billion to be default search engine in 2021 - Bloomberg News

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave/File Photo

(Reuters) -Alphabet's Google paid $26.3 billion to other companies in 2021 to ensure its search engine was the default on web browsers and mobile phones, a top company executive testified during the Justice Department's antitrust trial, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

The amount of payments Google made for the default status has more than tripled since 2014, according to senior executive Prabhakar Raghavan who is responsible for both search and advertising, the report added.