5 Facts about the Google Case, the Future of the Internet Has Changed Totally
- The United States (US) government this week will complete the evidentiary stage in the trial with Google. The search engine giant is accused of violating Antitrust Laws with tactics used to dominate the internet and online advertising.
In a trial that began on September 12 and is scheduled to end this week, the United States (US) Department of Justice is trying to prove that Google is a company that abuses its power to gain its own profit.
To find out clearly about the Google case which is said to be the biggest in history, here are 5 important points you need to know, summarized by CNBC Indonesia, Friday (17/11/2023), from Reuters.
Google Pays Trillions of Rupiah
Witnesses from telecommunications giant Verizon, cellphone manufacturer Samsung, and Google itself, admitted that the company paid US$ 26 billion in 2021 to ensure that its search engine became the default (automatic) service on cellphones and browsers.
This is to keep Google's market share dominant in the industry. In his testimony, Google CEO Sundar Pichai admitted that it was important to make its services installed by default on cellphones, tablets and laptops.
"We certainly see the value," he said.
Other Companies Leverage Google
Kevin Murphy, an expert testifying for Google and a lecturer at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, believes that Apple and other parties are playing with Google and Microsoft, which own the Bing search engine, to compete with each other in this industry.
The large budget spent by Google to maintain its search engine position shows how tight the competition between Google and Microsoft is.
Google's Dominance Makes Advertising Prices Strangle
Chief Media Officer for UM Worldwide, Joshua Lowcock, is a witness for the US government. He believes that the dominance of search engines has made these giants also dominate the digital advertising market.
Thanks to this monopoly, Google has arbitrarily raised online advertising prices in the last 10 years. Google's Vice President and Advertising Manager, Jerry Dischler, admitted that the company earned more than US$ 100 billion in 2020 from advertising on the search engine.
Google Denies Violating Antitrust Laws
Google thinks the government is wrong to say it is breaking the law to maintain its huge market share. According to Google, its search engine is popular with people around the world because of its quality.
Because, if users are not satisfied with the default search engine, they still have the option to switch to another search engine.
Apple's Senior VP of Services, Eddie Cue, praised Google's search engine and said he had meetings with Microsoft and DuckDuckGo, which uses Bing search, but found it inadequate.
Google considers the default search engine not very useful
Even though the company has paid billions of US dollars, Google's lawyers argue that default search engine status does not actually guarantee user loyalty if they are dissatisfied.
Google's chief lawyer, John Schmidtlein, said that Microsoft was the default service on several HP bundles from Verizon in 2008, BlackBerry and Nokia in 2011. However, the majority of Bing users still run to Google.
Google claims that it does not have a monopoly because it always strives to improve the quality of its services and protect user privacy. If it were a monopoly, Google wouldn't care whether its users were satisfied or not.
5 Fakta Kasus Google, Masa Depan Internet Berubah Total
- Pemerintah Amerika Serikat (AS) pada pekan ini akan menyelesaikan tahap pembuktian dalam persidangan dengan Google. Raksasa mesin pencari tersebut dituduh melanggar Undang-Undang Antimonopoli dengan taktik yang digunakan untuk mendominasi interenet dan iklan online.
Dalam uji coba yang dimulai pada 12 September dan dijadwalkan berakhir pada pekan ini, Departemen Kehakiman Amerika Serikat (AS) berusaha membuktikan bahwa Google adalah perusahaan yang menyalahgunakan kekuatannya untuk memperoleh keuntungan sendiri.
Untuk mengetahui secara jelas tentang kasus Google yang disebut terbesar sepanjang sejarah, berikut 5 poin penting yang perlu Anda ketahui, dirangkum CNBC Indonesia, Jumat (17/11/2023), dari Reuters.
Google Bayar Triliunan Rupiah
Saksi dari raksasa telekomunikasi Verizon, produsen HP Samsung, dan Google sendiri, mengaku bahwa perusahaan membayar US$ 26 miliar pada 2021 untuk memastikan bahwa mesin pencarinya menjadi layanan default (otomatis) pada HP dan broser.
Hal ini untuk menjaga pangsa pasar Google tetap dominan di industri. Dalam kesaksiannya, CEO Google Sundar Pichai mengaku penting untuk membuat layanannya terpatri secara default di HP, tablet, dan laptop.
"Kami tentu saja melihat nilainya," kata dia.
Perusahaan Lain Memanfaatkan Google
Kevin Murphy, pakar yang bersaksi untuk Google sekaligus dosen di University of Chicago Booth School of Business, berpendapat bahwa Apple dan pihak lain mempermainkan Google dan Microsoft, yang memiliki mesin pencari Bing, untuk saling bersaing dalam industri ini.
Anggaran besar yang dikeluarkan Google untuk mempertahankan posisi mesin pencarinya memperlihatkan seberapa ketat persaingan antara Google dan Microsoft.
Dominasi Google Bikin Harga Iklan Mencekik
Chief Media Officer untuk UM Woldwide, Joshua Lowcock, merupakan saksi untuk pemerintah AS. Ia menilai dominasi mesin pencari membuat raksasa tersebut turut menguasai pasar iklan digital.
Berkat monopoli tersebut, Google secara semena-mena menaikkan harga iklan online dalam 10 tahun terakhir. Wakil Presiden dan Manajer Periklanan Google, Jerry Dischler, mengakui perusahaan memperoleh lebih dari US$ 100 miliar pada 2020 lalu dari iklan di mesin pencari.
Google Membantah Melanggar Hukum Antimonopoli
Google menilai pemerintah salah dengan mengatakan mereka melanggar hukum untuk mempertahankan pangsa pasarnya yang sangat besar. Menurut Google, mesin pencarinya diminati warga dunia karena kualitasnya.
Sebab, jika pengguna tak puas dengan mesin pencari default, mereka tetap punya opsi untuk beralih ke mesin pencari lain.
Senior VP of Services Apple, Eddie Cue, memuji mesin pencari Google dan menyebut telah melakukan pertemuan dengan Microsoft dan DuckDuckGo, yang menggunakan pencarian Bing, tetapi menganggapnya tidak memadai.
Google Menilai Mesin Pencari Default Tak Terlalu Berguna
Meski perusahaan telah membayar miliaran dolar AS, namun pengacara Google berargumen status mesin pencari default sebenarnya tak menjamin kesetiaan pengguna jika mereka tak puas.
Kepala pengacara Google, John Schmidtlein mengatakan Microsoft pernah menjadi layanan default pada beberapa HP bundle Verizon pada 2008, BlackBerry, dan Nokia pada 2011. Namun, pengguna Bing mayoritas tetap lari ke Google.
Google mengklaim pihaknya tak melakukan monopoli karena selalu berupaya meningkatkan kualitas layanannya dan melindungi privasi pengguna. Jika monopoli, Google tak akan peduli apakah penggunanya puas atau tidak.