Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella slammed Google’s practices and domination over the search engine market. Testifying in a landmark US trial against Google, Nadella complained that the Microsoft rival was tying up content with expensive and exclusive deals with publishers, Reuters reported.
The case against Google is the first major antitrust case by the US authorities since Microsoft was sued back in 1998. With distribution agreements at the centre of the case, the US government alleges that Google illegally pays $10 billion annually to companies like Apple and AT&T to remain as the default search engine on their devices. Google commands around 90% share of the search market. This dominance enables it to boost profits with a lucrative advertising base.
Nadella said that companies locking up exclusive deals with big content makers was “problematic”, without naming Google.
“When I am meeting with publishers now, they say Google’s going to write this check and it’s exclusive and you have to match it,” he was quoted to have said.
Nadella also said that Microsoft was rebuffed by Apple when it attempted to make its Bing search engine the default on iPhones. In its defence, Google’s lead lawyer noted times when Microsoft did win default search engine status on computers and mobile devices but users bypassed Bing to continue using Google by a big margin. He argued that Bing’s inability to gain market share was due to a series of strategic errors on the part of Microsoft.
To explain Google’s dominance, Nadella said, “You get up in the morning and you brush your teeth and you search on Google.”
