Google accused of putting the kibosh on adding search engine to Samsung's Galaxy phones

According to Reuters, more revelations are coming out of the antitrust trial between the DOJ and Google and much of this information revolves around the multi-billion dollar payments that Google pays Apple and Samsung to make sure that it is the default search engine on iPhone and Galaxy handsets. The latest testimony to come out of the trial includes some interesting comments from Patrick Chang, a former executive who worked at Samsung’s Venture Capital unit, Samsung Next.

Chang’s job at Samsung Next was to find innovative companies for Samsung to invest in and he spoke with the powers that be at the company about adding an app called Branch to its Android handsets. Branch is a search engine that searches within apps to answer queries rather than looking through the internet.

Alexander Austin, the founder and former CEO of Branch Metrics, the company that owns the Branch search engine, testified last month that the company dropped some of the software’s functions to appease Google’s complaints as it tried to shake hands on deals with carriers and smartphone manufacturers. For example, Austin said that its searches had to remain inside apps and not be based on the web.

Samsung Next’s Chang also testified and he said that besides having to deal with Google’s attempt to put the kibosh on Samsung using Branch, AT&T and other wireless carriers did so as well since they were getting a share of Samsung’s annual payments. The carriers were also selling a large number of Android phones. The Justice Department accuses Google of paying phone manufacturers and wireless firms $10 billion a year via revenue share agreements in order to be the default search engine on smartphones.

One key piece of evidence was revealed by the Justice Department. An email from August 2020 written by Samsung executive David Eun complained that “Google is clearly buying its way to squelch competitors.”

However, there was testimony suggesting that Samsung had legitimate reasons why it didn’t want to use the Branch Search app. A Google attorney cross-examined Samsung Next’s Chang who testified that Samsung might have been uninterested in using Branch because the software was clunky and few users clicked on search result links.

Google accused of putting the kibosh on adding search engine to Samsung’s Galaxy phones

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