Jason Kint Profile picture
Aug 8, 2024 33 tweets 13 min read Read on X
wow. an amazing 325 page google strategy document quietly unsealed buried in google antitrust docket. It's gonna take a long thread but I have pulled out the gems. It's from 2017 planning, no doubt Google will just say these were only ideas but many will look very familiar. /1 Image
For more than a decade, Google has been shifting revenue away from rest of the web to its own properties where it doesn't have to share any of it (I share a chart every earnings backing this up). But here it is spelled out by their own employees as the intentional strategy. /2 Image
In a sea of project code names, "Narnia 2.0" is all over this document. The great Julia Angwin reported late in 2016 on how Google changed its policy merging users' anonymous browsing with PII and search activity creating a single profile/cookie. Now read the yellow highlight. /3 Image
Google pitched it as simplifying privacy settings enabling a single opt-out interface for users. Now note these docs suggest real goal was to be tracking 1B users by 2017 at <20% opt-out rate.
It was their goal to convert users to tracking (which most Google users don't want). /4 Image
People too often think Google's analytics and network ad biz are just bolt-on, small businesses. Not the case, the goal was to create essentially a walled garden of the entire web with persistent PII and tracking across our entire lives. "Our New Network" as they stated here. /5 Image
Project Narnia2 allowed for a single look across web and G properties. "LTV" came up in the search lawsuit they just lost as allowing to manipulate auctions by not solely using bid price. Here it appears this allowed them to shift revenue to gmail where they keep 100%. /6 Image
Where Google may argue they are the caretaker of the open web, that’s a lie. It’s been evident over the years they dominate discovery, design, data collection and monetization in a way that they can make sure they rarely lose. User trust can't be bound by revenue neutrality. /7 Image
For the news orgs and journalists who have been working to find a sustainable business model supported by your audiences, you need to know Google in this strategy document puts subscriptions (eg FT, WSJ) under the heading of "Threats to the Open Web." /8 Image
Not only does Google look at subscriptions in the doc as a threat to them and the open web but they also see privacy as a competitive threat...to surveillance. "These actors can inhibit our ability...to use identity to improve the quality of ads, constraining our business." /9 Image
"Publishers may give us data..." is how Google describes its surveillance across a majority of webpages, mobile phones, locations, as you browse the web. When GDPR rolled out, Google famously gave no other options. They are data thiefs imho. /10 Image
Let's just say I am super interested in the "remaining 20% whitelisted" here. A reminder Facebook's whitelisting of partners while under consent decree was a part of why it ended up in a $5B settlement. /11 Image
We've done our own research on how users feel about Google tracking them across the web (see Chrome sync) and Android. Read the yellow closely and you tell me how you feel about this two-time monopolist surveillance capitalist you can't avoid. /12 Image
Ever wonder why agencies and major advertisers rarely cross Google? At adtech antitrust trial 9/9, expect major agencies and advertisers are chilled by Google. Why? They may get special data privileges from Google. eg here appears to be P&G, Omincom. x-device? /13 Image
On the adtech antitrust trial, google will try to drive a narrative that they can just jettison a part of their network ad stack but reality is, on top of the surveillance data we've noted, Google also notes the strategic advantages (eg blend higher quality inventory). /14 Image
I will be shocked if this isn't an exhibit during trial (if it's not then they just have too much evidence),
"solve operational efficiency...and capture a portion of the value as higher fees, improvising overall margins."
"only possible when you control both buy & sell sides" /15 Image
So this bit here will undermine Google's argument that owning the entire stack makes advertising much better. Google states very clearly despite its own ubiquitous role, "Advertising is failing consumers, failing publishers, and failing advertisers." /16 Image
They say the quiet part out loud again, "we've implemented few standards for ad experiences beyond spam and fraud detection..." One may ask whether that is because they make more margin by a web driven by microtargeting users without the lower margins of quality experiences. /17 Image
Unless they can leverage youtube to shift brand spend intentionally. Google had some bad news reports earlier in the year for running major brands across their network including some really toxic sites - some even sanctioned if I recall correctly. /18 Image
A couple fun ones. For the folks who recall CBA - claimed to be an industry-wide, organic effort to improve ad experiences as a response to ad blocking. It turns out it was a Google-originated project. I'm fairly certain this document pre-dates the pitch from Venable. /19 Image
For those who know Richard Gingras, who served as a front man to the news industry protecting Google for more than a decade. He also ran their free news site with no ads that aggregated the rest of the web. Apparently still "struggling to build a compelling property." /20 Image
DOJ had to laugh at this exhibit (it came over from the Texas AG lawsuit) as Google repeatedly tried to suggest "the marketing funnel" wasn't a thing any more in the search trial it just lost. Their own people describe it right here. So it must be a thing. /21 Image
On a last funny note, all the docs in this thread, just came out as Google tried to keep an expert witness out of the trial by arguing "open web display advertising" is not actually a thing. Unfortunately for them they use the term all over these documents! I know, comical. /22 Image
One other more recent 2020 document includes some interesting charts including this one again showing how Google dominates all sides of the market. /23 Image
They also were clearly concerned about two projects called "Swiss Knife" which they would actually go in and terminate publishers from their adsense network. That plus ITP (Apple's privacy protection) had caused a 6% revenue hit apparently. /24 Image
Here is a link to the 300+ page strategy document. The adtech geeks should enjoy it. /25 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
A few other docs. Google's 2022 assessment of Apple's plans in its ads biz. In the comments, two years ago, it expects to essentially lose the basis of its lawsuit (buying off Apple for search traffic). They estimate this as 15% of APPL profits. /26 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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Our Canadian friends may appreciate this 2021 document analyzing Google's programmatic business north of the border including the critical trojan horse of GA4 to enable user consent if privacy laws advance. /27 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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Monopoly much. /28 Image
Sort of fun to see Facebook working to scramble in a statement and send background information to the NYT to deal with rising news reporting on the "duopoly" and potential harms of their market power. Oops. /29 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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January 2019 Display Highlights from inside of Google. These are the docs showing revenues, and profits, migrating to the O&O properties. This has been a trend for more than a decade. I don't believe it's anything but intentional. /30 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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Now one for my European friends. A whole lot of interesting analysis and internal strategy discussion for display biz in here post-GDPR. /31 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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Here is a link to the @JuliaAngwin report I referenced early on about merging PII with anonymous browsing which I am now fairly certain is the “Project Narnia 2.0” in the document. I expect this to come up at trial for sure. /32 propublica.org/article/google…
@JuliaAngwin over and out. hopefully this was useful in getting some of this info into public interest as we’re approaching Sept 9th where we’ll need to have as many independent adtech minds and journalists covering the details of the approaching $300B Twice Monopolist juggernaut. /33 /eof

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More from @jason_kint

Jun 17
Woah. Exhibit list just posted for Facebook trial in DE starting in a few weeks. We finally have confirmation Sheryl Sandberg was deposed by the SEC - one week prior to Zuckerberg which also kept secret until a lawsuit unsealed it. Sandberg was also sanctioned in this case. /1 Image
This matters as it gets at Who Knew What When at FB ahead of the world finding out its platform was leaking personal data for years. Zuckerberg was dodgy at best under oath to Congress, FB responses to Parliaments focused on 2018 news. But exhibits include Jan 2017 MZ emails. /2 Image
The DE lawsuit claims Facebook's $5 billion record settlement was inflated in order to protect its CEO, Zuckerberg, and also includes (civil) insider trading claims. Zuckerberg was ordered to sit for multiple day depo this year, will have to testify live. /3 Image
Read 20 tweets
Jun 15
Scanning front pages across America this morning. Still today, the local A1 best captures the biggest story of the day. The majors from NY to LA to Detroit to even Arkansas. /1 Image
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From Washington DC all of the way up to the major newspapers in Alaska… the No Kings protest images are everywhere capturing the moment. /2 Image
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All of them capture peaceful protest, democracy in action, and what America is all about at a time when social media algorithms may distort what the day was all about. Illinois to Colorado. /3 Image
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Read 11 tweets
Jun 10
Incredible work being done by the press to keep facts building on facts. Grateful. This entire WSJ report overnight starting with this lede on how White House orders sparked LA crackdown is both chilling and informative. /1 Image
This statement. “We came to the United States for protection of what we encountered in Russia. It seems that we are encountering here what we fled.” /2 Image
WSJ separating out cases of targeting groups who have not committed crimes but even noting here incredible resources being used against what appears to be clear, First Amendment protected activity alerted the community. Here is the must-read report. /3 wsj.com/us-news/protes…Image
Read 6 tweets
May 28
Confession. Having watched Scott Pelley's outstanding work over nearly three decades, I almost didn't take the time to watch his W.F. commencement speech thinking the news reports told me enough of the facts. Frankly, that would have been a huge mistake on my part. Huge. 1/5
Disclosure: I'm a 60 Minutes fan. In fact, I read Don Hewitt's "Tell Me a Story" after nearly a decade in sports media and it likely tipped the scale in 2007 when I decided to jump to work at CBS. I find Pelley and team brilliant in telling stories in barely 15 min segments. 2/5
“If liberty means anything at all, it means telling someone something that they don’t want to hear. I fear there may be some people in the audience who don’t want to hear what I have to say today but I appreciate your forbearance in this small act of liberty.” - Scott Pelley 3/5
Read 6 tweets
May 16
wow, another order for Mark Zuckerberg to sit for another court deposition. This time in a case involving privacy violations with ingesting web-wide health data. Remember they paid billions in cases to try to avoid this. Data and privacy issues are especially sensitive. /1 Image
Zuckerberg depositions are interesting as they often go on for hours with highly informed attorneys driving for answers. And those answers may be put up against the often questioned veracity of his answers to Congress. Yes, as a CEO, he has testified to Congress A LOT. /2
I think his first real depo was SEC on very sensitive data scandal leading to $5B+ settlements with FTC+SEC. That scandal is still playing out in courts (did he overpay to protect himself?) It took 3yrs to get unsealed after I caught it in a footnote. /3
Read 7 tweets
May 13
The Verge comes in with a massive scoop on the backstory reporting it was Musk - and Sacks - behind the scenes trying to blow up IP to train AI on behalf of his allies. This wouldn't be a surprise to anyone. /1 Image
they have reports and details on the carnage and firing of the leadership and on the possible incorrect assumption that the new people in charge were running their playbook. /2 Image
It may be rare that @mrddmia is in agreement with Dems but in the world of accountability for big tech abuse whether over data, monetization, IP, censorship, privacy, you name it, these aren't partisan issues. appreciate the shared voice from advocates all around. /3 Image
Read 5 tweets

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