Plot twist! Apple steps in to defend Google over search payments

Google is currently facing an antitrust lawsuit in the US. The US DOJ is scrutinizing Google over its dominance in the search industry. Interestingly enough, the company has found an ally in the form of Apple. Apple has asked to take part in the lawsuit, but instead of testifying against Google, the company wants to defend Google’s search payments to them.

An unlikely ally

Apple and Google have long been rivals in various product spaces. Mobile is one of them, where Apple’s iOS platform essentially goes head to head against Google’s Android. Despite their rivalry, both companies understand that they need each other to survive.

Apple has millions of iPhone users. Those are millions of eyeballs that could be directed to Google search. This is why Google pays Apple billions a year in search payments to remain Safari’s default search engine.

That is also one of the reasons why Apple has chosen to defend the company. Google’s payments to Apple were actually one of the focal points in the US DOJ’s lawsuit against Google.

According to a court filing by Apple as spotted by Reuters, Apple Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue, basically said that it would not be viable for the company to stop relying on Google entirely. Cue’s comments came on the court’s assumption that the proposed remedies in the Google lawsuit could lead to Apple creating is own search engine, a product that could potentially rival Google and provide some competition in the space.

The cost of business

For starters, it would be easy to ask Apple to make its own search engine to replace Google. However, it could be quite a monumental effort. According to Cue, Apple is focused on other areas of growth. Creating its own search engine would divert the company’s resources and employees. It could end up costing Apple billions. Not to mention it would also take years for such a product to materialize.

Secondly, even if Apple were to make its own search engine, there’s no guarantee that it would direct traffic away from Google. Cue points out how search itself is rapidly evolving. This is especially so in the face of AI, so Apple would basically be playing a very long game of catchup.

Lastly, Cue says that creating a viable (and profitable) search engine would require Apple to sell targeted advertising. This is actually one of the main sources of revenue from Google, but it essentially goes against Apple’s own principles. Apple has long touted itself as a champion of user privacy, so creating a search engine that relies on targeted advertising goes against that.