Senator Seeks Answers From Google CEO Over IAC Feud
December 07 2020 - 5:01PM
Dow Jones News
By Rob Copeland and Jeff Horwitz
A senior Democratic senator sent a letter to Google Chief
Executive Sundar Pichai on Monday seeking more information on the
search giant's financial relationship with online conglomerate
IAC/InterActive Corp.
The letter, from Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), followed a Wall
Street Journal article that said Google was weighing severe
penalties against IAC, under chairman Barry Diller, for software it
created for Google's Chrome web browser. An internal Google audit
found that IAC extensions -- external applications ostensibly
installed to provide weather updates or Bible verses -- often don't
provide users the functions they promised and direct them to
advertising.
The IAC products frequently change a users' default search
engine from Google to IAC's own search site, sparking confusion and
complaints from users, Google's trust and safety team found in the
audit. Beyond the Google investigators' concerns about the utility
of the browser extensions, the review found that the software had
been marketed via ads placed on Google that falsely claimed to help
users register to vote, find a polling place or apply for a
coronavirus stimulus check.
"Given the troubling practices discovered by Google's trust and
safety audit, your company's continued financial relationship with
IAC raises serious questions," Mr. Wyden wrote to Mr. Pichai. He
asked for the answers to nine questions, including whether Google
executives overruled internal recommendations to take action
against IAC.
A Google spokesman earlier said it was still reviewing the
issue.
Spokespeople for Google and IAC separately didn't have immediate
comment, though IAC has blamed misleading Google ads on affiliate
marketers it has since fired.
IAC earlier said that Google had been paid handsomely to
distribute the products, and that the Alphabet Inc. unit was
seeking to harm a competitor. IAC owns brands like Angie's List and
the Daily Beast and has been one of Google's largest
advertisers.
Mr. Wyden has been outspoken on technology regulation issues. In
the letter to Mr. Pichai, he noted that his office previously
contacted Google in February asking for a briefing on its
relationship with IAC and other makers of browser extensions.
"Google did not provide a briefing, nor did they respond to
eight additional requests for information between March and
August," Mr. Wyden wrote.
Write to Rob Copeland at rob.copeland@wsj.com and Jeff Horwitz
at Jeff.Horwitz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 07, 2020 16:46 ET (21:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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