We face a competitive environment, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Even as scrutiny of Google’s dominance on Internet search intensifies, the CEO of the company, Sundar Pichai, has said that it faces a competitive environment. In an earnings call with analysts on Thursday, Pichai said that the company is confident about the benefits it brings to its users and that it will make its case.
The comments come in the backdrop of the landmark antitrust lawsuit that the US Justice Department brought against Google, alleging that both advertisers and people are harmed by the tech giant’s position as “the unchallenged gateway to the Internet for billions of users worldwide.”
Earlier this week, the Senate Commerce Committee grilled the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook and Google over proposed changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Addressing the regulatory concerns, the Google and Alphabet CEO said that where there is feedback or rulings, the company will be be flexible and adapt.
Pichai also addressed the issues flagged in the lawsuit filed by DOJ which alleged that Google weaponised its dominance in online search and advertising to kill off competition and harm consumers.
He said that far from harming consumers, the aim was to make Google’s services accessible to everyone.
The DOJ lawsuit has also brought into focus Google’s partnership with other companies.
For example, Google, which now controls about 90 per cent of global web searches, pays Apple an estimated $8 billion to $12 billion every year to be the iPhone’s default search tool, according to reports.
However, Pichai argued that Google partners with other companies as it wants to be available on all platforms and be convenient for users to access its services.
For the third quarter of this year ending in September, Google’s parent company Alphabet reported $46.2 billion in revenue, an increase of 14 per cent from $40.5 billion in Q3 2019
