Apple CEO Explains How a Few Billion Dollars From Google Changes His Views on the Company's 'Unsettling' User Data Mining Activities (arstechnica.com)

In an interview with Axios on HBO Apple CEO Tim Cook explained the decision to use Google as the default search engine on Apple products. This decision, which enables Apple to make up to $9 billion a year, has baffled some, considering Google's business model of making money off of users' data -- something Apple has spoken out against numerous times. From a report: "I think their search engine is the best," Cook said in the interview. He followed up by diving into privacy features Apple has implemented in its Safari browser. "Look at what we've done with the controls we've built in," Cook stated. "We have private Web browsing. We have an intelligent tracker prevention. What we've tried to do is come up with ways to help our users through their course of the day. It's not a perfect thing. I'd be the very first person to say that. But it goes a long way to helping." Google pays Apple to have its search engine be the primary one on iPhones and other Apple devices.

Comments

Re:Bribery implies illegality

[bogaboga]

Bribery implies illegality. It's not illegal, it's just a failure to care about user privacy when a billion dollars are on the table. Privacy is only for people like Tim Cook, not for people who use his hardware.

This is similar to what lobbyists do with members of the US Congress, where this *is* bribery when one critically looks at it.

Re:Who is baffled?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not sure if I'd say Google bribed Apple or Apple blackmailed Google.

At one point the default search engine in iOS was Bing. Now I doubt Microsoft's privacy stance is any better than Google's but it shows that Apple is willing to use a sub-par service if they want. The decision to move back to Google happened last year. (Note that this is sort of getting into the weeds here as the default search engine for Safari has been Google for longer than that. When I say "default search engine for iOS" I'm talking about anything that triggers a web search outside of Safari, which includes Siri and searching via Spotlight.)

The point is that Apple is more than willing to move away from Google. They've proven it by switching the search engine they use some of the time. Google responded by increasing the amount of money they pay Apple.

So I don't know if I'd call it a bribe (Google paying Apple to get them to use their search) or blackmail (Apple demanding money from Google to not switch). In either case, it's pretty clear that Apple is being a pretty scummy company.

Re:$1B would change my views on many things too

[TheFakeTimCook]

>> Apple CEO Tim Cook explained the decision to use Google...has baffled some, considering Google's business model of making money off of users' data -- something Apple has spoken out against numerous times

Now $1B would change my views on many things too, but in this case, Cook was just being a smart businessman: lying to Apple customers (those gullible little marks) to get them to sign themselves and their friends up to his service, while at the same time telling Google that they would need to bring a truckload of money into a deal to get Apple to violate its lofty, lofty "principles". Well, the deal is done now that Google is bringing in the billions: in service to his shareholders, let's hope Cook gets a nice Christmas bonus.

Since you can easily change the default search engine on both macOS and iOS to any one of a number of other services, including the hallowed DuckDuckGo, this is truly a non-issue.

Slashdot ALWAYS favors systems that put the responsibility in the hands of the User. Apple has done that.

I don't see a problem here. It is absolutely consistent with the hive-mind of Slashdot.