I was not trying to defend the current law or any of its possible inconsistencies but only to give a sense of how it applies to this type of situation - as that

I was not trying to defend the current law or any of its possible inconsistencies but only to give a sense of how it applies to this type of situation - as that law is currently interpreted, there is a near-zero risk that Google's search business will be held to create liabilities for contributory infringement. That doesn't mean the law is correct and people can reasonably differ on what is or isn't fair under copyright (or even whether copyright should exist) - but that argument is a philosophical one and not one for explaining what the current law is.