Apple Inc. Considered Switching To Search Engine DuckDuckGo From Google
by Abdul Aziz Mondal Business 05 October 2023
Apple Inc. held discussions with DuckDuckGo to replace Google as their default search engine for the private mode available on Apple’s Safari browser, as per the people who are familiar with the discussion.
The audience may expect the details of the discussions to be released later this week after the judge oversees the federal anti-trust suit against Google, which was ruled on Wednesday that he may unseal the testimony of the Chief Executive Officer of DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinberg, and an executive of Apple, John Giannandrea.
Judge Amit Mehta initially allowed Giannandrea and Weinberg to testify about the negotiations that were closed in the court. However, the judge, on Wednesday, ruled that the testimony “goes to the heart of the case” and must be released. Similar testimonies that involved quite relatable discussions between Apple and Microsoft Corp. were also not released to the public.
Discussions about “partnership deals – I’m talking about the testimony concerning potential deals between Microsoft and Apple and DuckDuckGo and Apple – that will be unsealed,” Mehta mentioned in an order from the bench while adding that he considers it as “critical to the case.”
The private mode of browsing does not keep track of the websites that a user is visiting or keep any history of the websites that the customers access.
Google and Apple requested for the testimony to remain private. Mehta assured that he has gone through the transcripts “line by line” and will soon release the comments of the executives, except for the trade secrets, like the names of the projects within Apple, and the accurate financial figures that are under discussion.
DuckDuckGo, however, denied making a comment over the judge’s ruling. Apple, too, did not respond immediately to the request for comment. The Department of Justice has alleged that Google pays billions of dollars to Apple and other corporations to remain their default search engine on their smartphones and web browsers.
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