Eddie Cue's US v. Google testimony: Cue said Google was the only “valid” search choice for a deal; the DOJ noted Apple railed against Google's privacy policies
When court resumed today for the start of the third week … Adi Robertson / The Verge : Apple's Eddy Cue will take the stand Tuesday in the Google antitrust trial Thomas Barrabi / New York Post : Top Apple exec Eddy Cue defends Google default search deal: No ‘valid alternative’ Paul Wiseman / Associated Press : Apple exec defends tech giant's decision to make Google default search engine on Apple iPhones, Macs Joe Wituschek / BGR : Apple VP Eddy Cue says there still isn't a ‘valid alternative’ to Google Search Wesley Hilliard / AppleInsider : Apple's Eddy Cue says Google is default search engine because it is the best option Eva Dou / Washington Post : Apple exec defends multibillion-dollar Google deal at trial WRAL TechWire : Apple defends ‘default’ choice of Google in antitrust suit; how Epic Games wants case settled Abubakar Idris / The Messenger : Apple Executives Take the Spotlight in Google Antitrust Case Amber Neely / AppleInsider : Eddy Cue is set to take the stand as a key witness at Google's antitrust bench trial Threads: Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : “Cue had two messages: Apple believes in protecting its users' privacy, and it also believes in Google. Whether those two statements can be simultaneously true became the question of the day.” There was a missing the third message: Apple likes making billions of dollars a year in pure profit from Google by setting the configuration settings for the default search in Safari to Google Search. … X: Emily Birnbaum / @birnbaum_e : In US v. Google today. The DOJ just disclosed that Apple and Google have provisions in their agreement (making Google Search the default engine for Safari) related to what they can do if regulators challenge their deal. Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : We've asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Apple over violating securities laws. The firm called its deal with Google today “market-moving” information but has never disclosed it to investors. https://www.economicliberties.us/ ... @bigtechontrial : Apple executive Eddy Cue faced about an hour of direct-examination in open court from the DOJ this morning. Now they are back in closed session — I would guess for most of the rest of the day — but here are some highlights from Cue's testimony: Cue confirmed he was the lead Emily Birnbaum / @birnbaum_e : Apple exec Eddy Cue says “there's very bad resolution on the screen” in the court room. “We need a Mac.” Emily Birnbaum / @birnbaum_e : DOJ and Cue confirmed today that Apple/Google extended their Safari/Google search default agreement in 2021. Luke Goldstein / @lukewgoldstein : Apple exec Eddy Cue's examination today comes down to this: 🍎 claims its multi billion dollar default agreement with Google was simply about product quality. But 🍎"values privacy" and knew about Gs sketchy record. Indicates 🍎was really just after the $ from Gs revenue sharing Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : “DOJ's insistence on questioning Mr. Cue about this information in open court represents a substantial risk of revealing non-public, market-moving information pertaining to Apple.” So it's material information that's not in Apple investor docs? Ruh-roh. https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ... Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller : Apple pre-briefs reporters on its executive's statements, and then demands the court seal the actual testimony. Which judge Amit Mehta does. https://www.bloomberg.com/... Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Breaking my rule of waiting to end of day curate key developments at USA v Google. Courtroom open again, Apple testifying and we're methodically going where I hoped we would. Google's surveillance capitalism empire - privacy meets antitrust. A couple quick, important comments. /1 Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Apple legal challenges from benches when this was being questioned. So to point. 🍎 execs think “Android is a massive tracking device” (their words), 🍎 competes on privacy, Google pays dump truck of $ to 🍎 to be default, 🍎 likely can exit deal based on this litigation. /9 Jason Kint / @jason_kint : Bold. Apple has absolutely demanded to the Justice Dept that Eddie Cue be first to testify today and be done by end of the day. “As we have said on multiple occasions, it is imperative that Mr. Cue's examination is complete on Tuesday, September 26.” 4/4 [image] @khushitavasant : Some laughs at @Apple exec Eddy Cue's testimony this AM (yes, thankfully, we are back in open court). DOJ counsel shows an exhibit on screen to which Cue says the resolution is bad. “We need a Mac.” Judge Mehta quips, “If Apple would like to make a contribution towards that...” Forums: r/privacy : “Then, she showed a series of emails and slides in which Cue and Apple railed against Google's privacy policies.” r/apple : Apple defends Google Search deal in court: 'There wasn't a valid alternative' | Is it too hard to find your Safari settings on the iPhone? … Beehaw : Apple exec defends the decision to make Google its default search engine on iPhones and Macs MacRumors Forums : Apple's Eddy Cue Explains Why Google is iPhone's Default Search Engine
Context & Ripple Effects
The testimony puts Apple’s preference for Google in the context of a distribution arrangement the DOJ had already tied to a large share of Google search traffic: Apple products accounted for nearly half of Google’s 2019 search traffic, according to the lawsuit.
Cue’s claim that no valid alternative existed sharpens the case’s central dispute: whether defaults reflect product quality or reinforce incumbency. It also sits uneasily beside internal Apple material criticizing Google’s privacy practices, later detailed in Apple’s internal presentation on Android and Google privacy.
First-order effects
- Apple’s defense of its Safari default becomes explicitly quality-based as well as commercial, while the DOJ gains testimony and internal documents to test that rationale against the agreement’s payments and regulatory provisions.
- Google’s distribution deal with Apple receives further scrutiny as a mechanism for preserving search access on Apple devices, not merely as a standard commercial placement.
Second-order effects
- Rival search providers face a higher practical bar for winning default placement: they must offer Apple a credible alternative to Google’s search quality, distribution economics, and user expectations.
- The privacy tension gives the DOJ a way to argue that a platform’s stated product values need not determine its default-partner choices, broadening attention from the payment itself to the competitive effects of the default.
Third-order effects
- The case points to default agreements becoming a core antitrust test for digital gatekeepers: even where users can switch, regulators may examine whether preinstallation and default status entrench an incumbent.
- If courts limit exclusive defaults while preserving some distribution payments—as in the later ruling on Google’s device and browser search payments—platforms and search firms may have to separate access deals from exclusivity more clearly.
The trend: Search competition is increasingly being assessed through control of default distribution on major platforms, rather than through search quality alone.