Five more lawyers filed a lawsuit against Google (GOOG, GOOGL) this week alleging “evil against trust” linked to their ad tech business, which ‘one of three anti – trust cases in the US research giant
The move follows announcements earlier this month that the Biden administration will add to the technical criticism of Tim Wu’s big profile and name the well-known scholar of trust Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Despite the growing regulatory pressure, Google Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat downplayed the risk of losing trust in a new interview with Yahoo Finance. While promising that the company will “engage constructively” with regulators, Porat reiterated the main argument made by Google in response to critics: Consumers choose Google because it is a product it is strong, not because they have no other options.
When asked about threats against trust and recent additions to the Biden administration, Porat said, “This is not new for Google.”
“Investigations have been conducted across the globe over time. Our approach has been to engage constructively with regulators,” she said. “Our view is that people come to Google not because they need to – but because they want to.”
The European Commission fined a total of $ 9.7 billion between 2017 and 2019 in three trust cases. One case on behalf of Google alleged that it gave its own services an unfair advantage in search results; another said it used its power in the mobile phone market; and a third said he was involved in “obscene practices” in online advertising.
In the past few months, Capitol Hill has intensively studied four of America’s largest tech companies – Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), and Google (GOOG, GOOGL ) – implies that the House of Commons released in October a report on trust. The majority report described the web of Google’s main services as an “ecosystem of interconnected monopolies” that will drive “more monetization through online advertising.”
Acting FTC chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on Thursday told the House subcommittee that the group should be more willing to sue companies they deem violating trust laws and regretted co-operation. avoid closing the group in a lawsuit against Google.
The evidence came after documents found by Politico this week showed that the FTC found evidence nearly a decade ago of malicious tactics carried out by Google. But the FTC chose not to sue in part because it saw “limited potential for growth” in online ads, which has largely boosted Google’s business ever since.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Porat described Google ‘s rise after its launch in 1998, confirming that the company’ s success is driven by a relentless effort to improve its product.
“I think at the time it was the eighth search engine, and maybe like many, I think, ‘Why do you need another search engine? ‘”She says. “The truth is: It was of higher quality, better experience, more relevant results.”
“So Google broke through the package and this is really fundamental to just being this ongoing commitment to innovation,” she said.
Google enjoyed strong performance in the second half of 2020 due in part to a return in advertising revenue from survey and YouTube with hundreds of millions of Americans sticking at home on digital devices. The company ended the year with impressive revenue in Q4, pulling in $ 56.9 billion, which marked a 23% increase over the same period last year.
The company announced Thursday that it will spend $ 7 billion this year on expanding the U.S. facility’s footprint, adding at least 10,000 jobs across several major cities, including Atlanta, Washington, and more. DC, Chicago, and New York.
Porat spoke to Yahoo Finance Editor Andy Serwer in a program of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a series of weekly interviews with leaders in business, politics and entertainment.
She joined Google as a CFO in 2015, after more than a decade in senior banking positions at Morgan Stanley. While helping Google catch the COVID-19 pandemic, Porat has used its background in crisis management.
To begin her career, she participated at Morgan Stanley weeks before the October 1987 market crash; and subsequently advised the Treasury on the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on AIG during the 2008 financial crisis.
Reflecting Google’s commitment to innovation, Porat announced a feature launched last October that recognizes a song that users have added to their mobile device.
“Even if you were as bad as I am, Google will help you identify, ‘What song was that? ‘”She says. “So we continued through technology [and] innovation, to make it fun, lame, relevant. “
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