woah. ~300 redacted summary judgment google exhibits posted in TX. I've uploaded all. most eye-popping - we finally get Google-Facebook contract (aka Jedi Blue) alleged as bid rigging (yes, press was misled, it's still part of the claims). /1
If you need a definition for Match Rate, Google and Facebook include it with example of using the "encrypted blob" on mobile, feels very much like a fingerprint y'all. Here is the full contract, don't sleep on section dealing with monopoly enforcement. /2 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
There are a ton of new exhibits from discovery with similar themes of Google secretly using projects to manipulate its black box auctions. "The first rule of Bernanke is we don't talk about Bernanke." /3
"the following kind of collusion is beneficial to bidders" is the analogy a redacted Google employee uses internally used to describe Bernanke (eg stop submitting a second price in an auction to effectively pay publishers the third price and then redeploy the margin). /4
Another secret project, Dynamic Revenue Sharing, continues to be one of the most infuriating. First, Google lowered its margins on individual auctions in order to capture marketshare then they launched v2 to recapture that margin by maintaining a publisher "debt" account. /5
Google's success metrics for DRS v2 are incremental revenue and profits for Google. And yes, more revenue to publishers vis a vis Google and less from other intermediaries. Incredibly dirty imho. /6
We still expect the US v Google decision in the parallel trial here in Virginia any day now but it's good to continue to see user data and surveillance capitalism play such a large role in the Texas lawsuit. Here is Texas describing how it alleges Google broke its promises. /7
In both trials, this "bundling" of two major changes to Google's auctions is deadly. We've seen other emails explaining the need to packages them. Here, Google even color codes what was good for Google (green) and good for pubs (blue). But what does that really mean? /8
Here it is put more simply, "One is good for us and bad for publishers. Other is bad for us and good for publishers. Can we combine them both?" /9
The secretive "g-Trade" team continues to feature widely in the exhibits. You may have heard Google previously suggest there was a firewall between its market leading buy-side and market-leading sell-side tech. Read this closely. /10
We saw this in the Virginia exhibits but again it's deadly evidence in yellow. There are other exhibits showing Google is trying to reverse a trend towards "open" with header bidding. But here they admit not so much that they hurt their AdX margins/leverage. /11
Jonathan Bellack was key on this testimony, and as a former employee, could have been the biggest difference maker in relaying Google's conduct in EDVA. Maybe it will happen in texas. he knew importance of bidstream data coupled with location, search, browsing, user data. /12
Anyway, all these decisions add up to Google playing God. Capturing share and margin while doing what they believe is best for the wider web. Read the blue below. Note: the Super Bowl is a perfect example of irrational/FOMO ad buying - and it's worth every penny for brands. /13
Finally, I will leave you with another exhibit - a 2015 Digiday report - which serves as a great example of Google misleading public/press. It's a scoop on G rolling out dynamic price floors but a source (yours truly IIRC) notes it requires "tying" the ad server and exchange. /14
Oh yes, there I am. Again, this report is an exhibit a decade later in a major antitrust lawsuit(s) to break up Google, for allegedly doing exactly what I expressed as a grave concern. Google never called. /15
But Google instead chose to dispute the reporting and claims to Digiday. /16
Even internally they apparently tried to bury their own denial when called by fellow employees on it. This employee received a response internally suggesting the denial was about something else in the article. /17
But here is the exact thread where Google comms decides to feed the statement to Digiday to insert it into the Digiday report. Always bring the receipts. /18
Here is a link to all the exhibits (see docket 737-750 for tonight). Yes, Google prob timed its redactions for New Years' Eve (). Google's Summary Judgment arguments seem to be 2-sided market (Amex) and refusal to deal (Trinko). See you at trial, G. /19courtlistener.com/docket/1874931…
by the way, here is a link to Facebook's motion for Summary Judgment in the private antitrust lawsuit against it. Yes, it also filed today. And yes, pp 19-21 are focused on Jedi Blue, too. /20 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
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Here is how NYT reported it in the complaint. Google and Facebook suggested it was misrepresented. Their proxies have misled public into thinking it was dismissed from lawsuit despite Google's CEO being deposed about it only months ago. /3 nytimes.com/2021/01/17/tec…
Justice takes time. What he knew when. AOC will remember this, “Their lawsuit says Zuckerberg—facing the risk of personal liability over the data privacy scandal—got himself out of trouble by agreeing to pay a larger-than-necessary $5 billion fine with shareholder money.” 1/3
Here is the full report from Bloomberg on Zuckerberg’s deposition which apparently was cut short and late on docs on Dec 3rd. Board members Thiel, Andreessen, others all being deposed these weeks. Press allowed Facebook to rewrite history on this. 2/3 news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-p…
Here is a good thread that will get you into the details. Sheryl Sandberg also deposed although her assumed prior SEC deposition was sealed. We did finally get Zuckerberg’s which showed his nerves and that the scandal was on his mind much earlier. Thanks to @zamaan_qureshi 3/3
Overnight: FTC plans to call CEO Zuckerberg and (former) CTO Schroepfer in first 2 wks of trial (late April) in DC seeking to break up the company for abuse of monopoly laws. Also on their short list are some very big roles and names. Very likely driving behaviors at the top. /1
As I know their roles...
Chris Cox - chief product officer who took a break when scandals accelerated, and avoided testimony in UK.
Javier Olivan - now COO, key lieutenant
Sheryl Sandberg - former COO, on everything
Alex Schultz - key growth hacker, now CMO /2
Adam Mosseri - key lieutenant, now runs Insta
Dave Wehner - former CFO, deal approval including $19B with no real revenue WhatsApp
Fidji Simo - (former) always in mix, product leadership
Guy Rosen - Onavo alleged packet sniffing of WhatsApp, Snap /3
Woah. Google filed redacted versions of its Summary Judgment exhibits in Texas adtech antitrust case ahead of the March 31 trial. Although this case mirrors DOJ's case awaiting decision, it has even more eye-popping evidence. And an expert suggesting $29B in penalties. /1
"Project Bernanke" is an oldie but goodie that gets a lot of discussion. ICYMI, Google would allegedly increase the first highest and the second highest bid in its 2nd-price auctions then reinvest the "saved" funds back into other bids to Google wins more auctions. /2
The problem is while it may have ended up providing more revenue to the publisher (from/through Google) and no doubt to Google, Inc, it allegedly ignored the revenue which could have come through another channel if Google didn't manipulate the rev share as it ran the auctions. /3
US v Google II Closing arguments today.
70min for DOJ-> 95min for Google-> 20min for DOJ. Having predicted this case as better odds than search case (Google already lost in August), nothing changed my mind today. I wrote down: influence/$, complexity, deception, and arrogance. /1
I'm staying high level on perception first as findings of fact already covered much. On influence/$, DOJ pointed out early on and then again in rebuttal that every single witness presented by Google (except one) was paid or had grants from Google. /2
On complexity, Google again executed on its spaghetti defense with lead counsel, Karen Dunn, bookending trial by running over as she did in her opening. She appeared to skip dozens of slides, many minutes of close. And she loaded her slides while talking twice as fast as DOJ! /3
Bam. There is it. US Department of Justice has filed - requesting divestiture of Chrome as a remedy for court's finding against Google. Android at risk, too. /1
As it relates to Android, here is how DOJ puts it. Forced divestiture is option that "swiftly, efficiently, and decisively strikes at the locus of some anticompetitive conduct at issue here" but we're ok with tight behavioral remedies with option to divest if they don't work. /2
Revenue sharing for search default and/or preferential treatment - dead. Google's tens of billions to Apple - dead (last I saw it's about 15% of Apple's profits). Reminder, this all needs to be argued and approved by Court and then will get appealed. Still far off. /3