Apple Defends Its $19B Google Search Deal Even As It Laments Its Privacy Policies

Apple Inc.'s AAPL Eddy Cue defended the company's $19 billion deal with Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google on a conflicting note – while he said Google Search was the best deal available for Apple, he also lamented the company's privacy policies.

What Happened: Cue took the stand in the ongoing antitrust case against Google as he sought to justify Apple's $19 billion deal with the search giant, explaining that Google Search was the best option available and that there were no alternatives, reported The Verge.

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However, Apple maintained that Google's privacy policies aren't on the same level as those of its own.

The Department of Justice's line of questioning centered around this fact, too – it sought to understand how Google's track record on privacy policies aligns with that of Apple's. It also sought to understand if Apple took the Google Search deal because it was too good to pass or if Apple actually believed in the product itself.

"I always felt like it was in Google's best interest, and our best interest, to get a deal done," said Cue.

"We make Google be the default search engine because we've always thought it was the best. We pick the best one and let users easily change it," he added.

Why It Matters: Defending Apple's stance, Cue said that the company tried to get Google to cut back on its privacy-invading features to keep its deal aligned with Apple's values.

Apple's deal with Google is one of the key aspects of the antitrust lawsuit brought forward by the DOJ. Its line of questioning centered around the deals that Google cut with others like Mozilla and Samsung, among others, to ensure that it is the default search engine.

Cue also defended Apple's decision not to offer alternative search engines during the setup, stating that the setup experience is "critical" and that they want it to be "as fast as possible".

However, the one aspect that might stick out is that Apple offers users options when it comes to privacy features like location tracking or for things like font size. On his part, Cue disagreed that these are a part of the setup process.

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