During his highly anticipated testimony at the Big Tech firm’s antitrust trial, longtime Apple executive Eddy Cue defended the company’s deal to keep Google as the default search engine on its smartphones and browsers.
Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services and a close confidant of CEO Tim Cook, made a strong case for Google’s default status. Cue’s appearance at the trial made him the most high-profile witness thus far, as Google has faced scrutiny over its hefty payments to secure the position.
Estimates by wealth management firm Bernstein, cited by CNBC, suggest that Google may be paying up to $19 billion per year for default status on Apple devices.
Cue testified that Apple chose Google as its default search engine because it was the best option available for its devices. According to Bloomberg, Cue stated, “There certainly wasn’t a valid alternative we would have gone to at the time.”
He also emphasized that Apple has not felt compelled to develop its own in-house search engine due to the high quality of Google’s product.
Cue’s testimony aligns with Google’s defense, asserting that consumers choose the company’s search engine because of its high quality. However, Justice Department attorneys argue that Google spends over $10 billion annually on payments to partners like Apple and mobile carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon, to maintain its dominance in online search.
Another key point Cue made during his testimony is that the contract between Apple and Google includes a clause stating Big Tech firms will “support and defend” the agreement against legal challenges. Cue revealed that Google’s legal team pushed for the inclusion of this clause during contract renegotiations in 2016.
Google has been the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser since 2002, and Cue confirmed that the deal was most recently renewed in 2021, as reported by Bloomberg.
Due to the sensitivity of certain information related to the companies’ operations, much of Cue’s testimony took place in a closed-court session.
Google currently holds a dominant market share of roughly 90%, surpassing all its competitors. Gabriel Weinberg, the founder of privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, testified earlier that Google’s default deals with major smartphone manufacturers and mobile carriers have contributed to its monopoly position.
Eddy Cue is the second Apple executive to provide testimony at the trial, following the appearance of Apple’s artificial intelligence boss, John Giannandrea, last week.
The antitrust trial, now in its third week, has faced criticism for its lack of public transparency. The Department of Justice removed trial exhibits from a public website last week after Google raised concerns with presiding Judge Amit Mehta.
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