Skepticism over Apple as a competitor
Government lawyers aimed to show that Google was worried about Apple becoming more interested in search.
They pointed to an email from 2019 where Pichai asked a colleague to let him know whenever someone from Google’s search team joined Apple.
“There have been moments where people at Google have been concerned about Apple as a potential competitor” in search, Pichai testified without referencing any specific timeframe.
However, some industry sources aren’t convinced with this argument.
Google currently bundles its search ads business with its search engine. Earlier trial proceedings found that Apple considered letting people choose between Google and Yahoo as their preferred search engines on their screens. But Google rejected this offer in an email stating, “No default placement, no revenue share.”
Referring to Google’s contracts with Apple, Epstein said that publishers don’t have the ability to innovate or to understand the value of their search traffic.
“Once you have your competitors relying on you for $26 billion revenue a year, you have complete control over the marketplace,” he said.
The search experience is being upended
While any verdict isn’t expected until next year, there’s a significant likelihood the search industry will undergo a rapid change before then; from both a legal standpoint and through artificial intelligence advancements.
“Google could expect a change in its status quo and that could be a welcome change to marketers,” said Epstein.
While legal experts Adweek spoke to previously questioned a possible separation of Google’s search ads business from its search engine, sources interviewed for this story pointed out that apart from the Department of Justice, 35 states have filed near identical suits against Google, as reported by NPR.
“No one is doing this to get a bucketload of money. They’re doing this to break them up,” the industry insider said.
[ad_2]
Source link
