Microsoft CEO says “everyone is playing in Google’s web”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified October 2 as part of the ongoing antitrust trial between Google and the DOJ. In his testimony Nadella said of Google that “It’s really Google’s web, and everyone is just playing in it.”

The statement refers to the difficulty of breaking into the search market. Even for a company like Microsoft, one of the highest valued companies in the world, competing against Google in search is no easy task. The basis of the trial since it began is that Google allegedly illegally operates a monopoly in the search market. Using its considerable market power to force competitors out of the space or otherwise overshadow them through various tactics.

In past trial days it’s been said by DOJ litigator Kenneth Dintzer that Google has applied numerous methods to ensure it stays on top. Including paying companies like Apple and other manufacturers to make Google the default search engine on their devices. Google has also allegedly trained employees to avoid using certain words that could make them sound like monopolists. As well as deleting certain logs from internal communications by turning the history of those chats off.

Microsoft CEO says Bing faces considerable obstacles to gain marketshare from Google

Nadella’s statements are mostly in reference to questioning about Google’s dominance. But they also “affirm” claims made by the DOJ that it’s increasingly difficult for competitors to break into search due to Google’s exclusive deals.

By securing these deals, Google gets more eyes on search which results in more gathered data. Which leads to more revenue that Google then dump into more deals. This ‘flywheel effect’ as it’s called makes it hard for other competitors to gain any traction. According to Nadella, Microsoft has considered shopping a deal to Apple to replace Google search as the default on Apple devices with Bing. A deal that Nadella states would likely cost “billions in short-term losses.”