My comment was in response to the nonsensical logic of parent post, not about the current working logic of the industry. If paying was illegal then Apple has no reason to choose Google, as OP stated. Apple is incentivized to push its own search products.
Why does Google currently pays Apple then? If Google could not pay then Apple would just push its own search products. Why choose Google if they don't benefit from it?
The system does not care for their well being because they are redundant. Drug use was frowned upon during the Cold War because we needed people to win a industrial war against a much bigger enemy. We don't need them anymore, so the system does not care if they end overdosing in an alleyway. It is all connected, culture, social and economical.
It is the same thing. Life is finite. You will live every minute, but you better not waste most of them. Last thing you want is to run out of time and not done the things you wanted.
Risk will always exist. Our most precious resource is time. Every effort to save it is worth it. What if it causes one accident every 20 years? It saved thousands of years of human time in the meantime.