Apple clarifies why they don't want to build a search engine

Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, has stated why the iPhone maker does not want to build a search engine like Google. In a declaration filed with a US federal court in Washington, D.C. last week, Cue stated that Apple opposes the notion for the following reasons:

• The development of a search engine would cost Apple "billions of dollars" and "take many years," and this would divert investment money and employees away from "other growth areas" that the company is focused on.
• The search business is "rapidly evolving" due to artificial intelligence, so it would be "economically risky" for Apple to create a search engine.
• In order to create a "viable" search engine business, Apple would be required to "sell targeted advertising," which is "not a core business" for the company and would go against its "longstanding privacy commitments."
• Apple does not have enough "specialized professionals" and "operational infrastructure" needed to build and run a successful search engine business.

Earlier this year, as part of the US Department of Justice's antitrust prosecution against Google, the court ruled that the agreement establishing Google as the default search engine in Apple's web browser Safari is illegal. In his declaration, Cue requested that the court enable Apple to defend the contract by having its own witnesses testify at the trial.

"Only Apple can speak to what kinds of future collaborations can best serve its users," Cue wrote in a letter. "Apple is relentlessly focused on creating the best user experience possible and explores potential partnerships and arrangements with other companies to make that happen."

As part of the agreement, Cue said that Google paid Apple almost $20 billion in 2022 alone. If the agreement is no longer valid, Cue stated that "it would hamstring Apple's ability to continue delivering products that best serve its users' needs."