In a once-in-a-generation U.S. antitrust battle centered on the billions of dollars Google paid to be the default on computers and smartphones, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recognized on Monday the significance of making its search engine the default in keeping customers loyal.
Google kept an eye out for compliance after it began to pay for devices to have default status in 2005. The business once told Apple that it was worried that certain queries—especially profitable ones—would be sent to websites like Amazon.com via the Safari browser.
Pichai stated, “It’s obvious that we were doing the deal for default placement.”
During the cross-examination, Pichai stated, “We definitely see value,” in reference to Google’s tens of billions of dollars in yearly payments for default status.
The case was filed by the US government to investigate whether Google engaged in illicit activity to preserve its hegemony over online search and some aspects of search advertising.
The corporation might have to give up some of the strategies that have allowed it to stay at the top if the government prevails.
Pichai, who was called by Google, was shown examples of times when the corporation pressured Apple, wireless providers, and smartphone manufacturers to make its search engine the default on their devices in exchange for revenue-sharing agreements.
Pichai was questioned by a Justice Department attorney over a 2007 conversation he had with other Google executives—prior to taking on the role of chief executive—about an Apple proposal to allow users to select their preferred search engine on a future iteration of the Safari browser.
At the time, a document stated that 75% of users do not modify their default settings and that “defaults have strong impact.”
Pichai also made a few jabs at Internet Explorer, the competitor browser from Microsoft.
Google has maintained that users can and will change to a different search engine if they are unhappy with the default search engines.
Along with maintaining the legality of the revenue-share agreements, it has made significant investments to maintain the competitiveness of its search and advertising businesses.
During Pichai’s cross-examination, the Justice Department questioned him about claims made by others that Google officials habitually erased instant conversations without considering whether they should be preserved for future legal proceedings and mislabeled confidential papers as protected by attorney-client privilege when they weren’t.
