DOJ’s push to sell Google Chrome sparks industry debate over web’s future
Marketers and tech experts warn of unintended consequences while questioning Chrome's viability as standalone product.
Topic: Kent Walker
Adtech antitrust trial judge blasts Google’s business practices
The Google antitrust trial's early proceedings have revealed scathing judicial criticism and potential evidence of misconduct.
Google will pay Canadian publishers $73m a year to keep news links in search
The search engine threatened to stop serving news in response to a new law forcing tech companies to pay for news content.
Judge: No evidence Google harmed competitors by limiting search visibility
Anticompetitive claims related to Google Search Ads 360 and the company's mobile search dominance are moving forward.
This day in search marketing history: March 4
Sheryl Sandberg leaves Google for Facebook, plus: new GA4 homepage, Wikipedia turns PPC into SEM, goodbye Scroogled and more.
Google, Microsoft throw down the gauntlet and why Excel is the foundation of SaaS; Monday’s daily brief
Plus, Instagram expands accessibility in Stories
DOJ antitrust suit: Google uses contracts, market power to neutralize rivals
Google thinks it will win but the DOJ used these arguments successfully before.
Google lobs invective at EU Copyright Directive
SVP Kent Walker urges changes in language ahead of ratification.
Google rolls out new ID requirements for US political ads
Due to increased scrutiny of how these ads affect users and voters, company says more transparency intiatives are to come.
What to make of the EU’s absurd antitrust ruling against Google
In its concern over Google's market dominance, the EU has focused on the wrong issue. Its ruling won't benefit consumers and isn't going to bring CSE business back.
EU slaps Google with $2.7B antitrust fine for favoring its own content in search results
The fine is much larger than expected and sets a worrying precedent for the company as it faces future cases.
Report: EU responding to Google antitrust search-quality defense with new objections
Supplementary statement reportedly being filed to enable European Commission to address Google's defense against claims of abuse of market position.
Mississippi attorney general’s “conspiracy to censor the internet” back on as appeals court rules against Google
Google had alleged the Motion Picture Association of America was using Mississippi attorney general's action as a tool of its private interests in content takedowns.
Google Comes Out Swinging, Denies All Antitrust Charges In Shopping Search
In a formal filing and in a companion blog post by Google SVP and General Counsel Kent Walker, Google has vigorously denied that it has abused its market position in search. Instead, it characterized its actions and UI changes as directed toward quality and improving the user experience. In the blog post entitled “improving quality […]
Leaked 2012 FTC Document Called Google A Monopoly, Recommended Litigation
An “inadvertently disclosed” report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) labels Google a monopoly and appears to directly contradict the decision not to pursue legal action against the company. In early 2013 the FTC formally decided to close its antitrust investigation against Google demanding only modest changes in the company’s business practices. It turns out […]
States Threaten Action If Google Doesn’t Delist “Illegal Sites”
According to the Washington Post, 24 state attorneys general are trying to pressure Google to discontinue ads and the indexing of sites they argue teach or enable criminal activity. In particular, they continue to pressure Google to eliminate advertising connected to the sale of illegal or fake prescription drugs. The attorneys generals’ complaints were initially […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 17, 2014
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Starbucks & The Economist Admit To Using Google+ For SEO More Than Social Last Friday, a New York Times report on Google+ spotlighted Starbucks and The Economist as two brands currently […]
Google Publishes Full Text Of EU Antitrust Agreement
This afternoon on its European Blog, Google’s General Counsel Kent Walker exposed the full text of the company’s third-proposed and tentatively accepted antitrust settlement agreement with European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Almunia previously declined to make the full agreement available. The document, dated January 31, 2014, is quite long (embedded below) and contains extensive examples of […]
Google, Android Makers Sued By Apple “Rockstar” Consortium Over Search, AdWords
Roughly two years ago Google and a consortium of companies competitively bid for the vast patent portfolio of bankrupt Canadian Company Nortel Networks. Google initiated the bidding with $900 million but ultimately was outbid by the Rockstar consortium, consisting of Microsoft, Apple, Blackberry, Ericsson and Sony. Google’s final bid was $4.4 billion. Rockstar won the patents for […]
New Google Antitrust Offer A “Significant Improvement” Says EU
After Google’s competitors loudly complained about the company’s antitrust settlement proposal, which displayed three “rival links” to alternative’ search results, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said it would take new “concessions” for Google to successfully settle its antitrust case with Europe. Google has now reportedly made those concessions. Almunia characterized Google’s updated settlement offer, submitted last […]
WSJ: Federal Prisoner Helped U.S. Sting Against Google’s Pharmacy Ads
It’s been a difficult month for Google, and the company is bound to take another hit in the morning as a Wall Street Journal article makes the rounds — an article that offers new details about the government sting that compelled Google to pay $500 million after acknowledging that it both allowed and helped Canadian […]
Google’s Patent Screed Emerges As PR Blunder
Google’s mostly ill-conceived patent screed from yesterday has opened the floodgates of discussion about Google’s (Android’s) vulnerability to third party patents owned by Microsoft, Oracle and Apple. Among the throng of comments and opinions about the episode are a few Google sympathizers, such as Forbes blogger Tim Lee who believes Google should advocate for the […]
Google Tries to Reassure Brand Owners With New Anti-Counterfeiting Measures
Counterfeiters seem to love Google AdWords — the company shut down 50,000 AdWords accounts selling counterfeit goods in the last six months of 2010 alone. But some counterfeiters are still on the loose, raising the ire of Google’s advertisers who are selling legitimate versions of the same products. In response to the problem, Google has […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 14, 2010
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Looks To Improve Maps With 300 New Staffers Problems in Google Maps are well known by now. From spam to bugs to its lack of support for local businesses, we’ve […]
Takeaways From Google’s 2010 Stockholder Meeting
Google executives reflect on year at annual meeting from CNet News reports on yesterday’s shareholder meeting at Google. At the meeting was Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt, co-founder Larry Page, VP of products Susan Wojcicki, VP of user experience Marissa Mayer, general counsel Kent Walker and others. I wanted to sum up the key takeaways as […]
The Next Decade: Can Google Stay On Top?
There’s a feeling in the air of change — from one era to another and, more precisely, from one type of media culture to another. The hearings on Capitol Hill yesterday on the “future of journalism” reflect this transition in which traditional media are under intense pressure and fighting for their lives in some cases. […]
SearchBiz: Whetstone Becomes New Google PR Chief; Google And The “M-Word,” & Flickr Founder Criticizes Yahoo
Remember Google losing its head of PR, Elliott Schrage, to Facebook back in May? Google has quietly found a replacement, that of Rachel Whetstone. She formerly headed corporate communications for Google in Europe. Google confirmed to us she was named to the post several weeks ago, though no announcement was made. But her replacement got […]
Megachart & Analysis: Google Executive Management Changes, 2000-2008
With two high-ranking Google executives leaving the Big G within a month’s time, I thought it would be interesting to go back through Google’s executive management page over the years and see how it reflects changes among the higher-ups. Below, there are a series of tables and commentary that hopefully let you understand the shifting […]
The Big Viacom Sues GOOG & YouTube Roundup
Yesterday, news came out about Viacom suing Google for $1 billion over alleged video copyright infringement on YouTube. With some dust settling, I thought it would be helpful to recap some of the analysis out there. I’m pulling this roundup mostly from coverage you’ll find on Techmeme. Come along, and we’ll go through the official […]