Google’s CEO is not trying to deny or steer that it shares 36 percent of mobile search revenue with Apple in exchange for iPhone default search and pays as much as $18 billion for it in total a year.
Epic did not get Pichai to admit that it pays Samsung half as much for search defaults at 16 percent. Pichai says that for Samsung phones, Google pays the carrier, too.
That’s Google CEO Sundar Pichai, changing his answer to the court about whether OEMs would really put Google Play right on the homescreen if they weren’t contractually obligated by Google’s MADA contracts. He also got in a mention of competing with Apple.
In an earlier deposition, he told the court they might place it elsewhere. “I would assume so, yes.”
Epic: “You have no evidence that Facebook was trying to launch an app distribution platform on Android?”
Pichai: “Not that I was concerned about.”
Also, check “MADA” and “Right on the homescreen” on your bingo card; Moskowitz said the first, and something that’s so close to the second that I’ll allow it.
Pichai has been presented with a typed summary of a meeting between him and other Android leaders on April 16th, 2013 — where he suggested the following (as paraphrased by Google that week):
Should we revisit the rules, now we aren’t an upstart open source os? Not that we should stop anything we are doing right now, but over next two weeks take the time to step back and look at the overall situation. Nightmare scenario is we lose control of Android ... can’t take what we have here for granted.”
These were some of Android leader Hiroshi Lockheimer’s two cents:
How do we prioritize and sequence thing (sic) so we don’t lose control. The world is a different place back in 2007, and now there are companies that want to take our ecosystem away.”
We’re not 100 percent sure what Epic attorney Moskowitz is driving at quite yet, but she’s repeatedly asking Pichai questions about how OEMs work — and if smartphone manufacturing OEMs have the ability to preinstall their own apps.
So far, he’s saying yes. It’s too early for anybody to have a BINGO quite yet, but we’re moving swiftly!
Pichai continues to insist that it was a glitch.
Epic is moving on to different questions now.
Pichai roundabout agrees with Epic lawyer Moskowitz’s question that, as far as he knew, Google was preserving all its relevant chats following legal holds.
Now, he’s being presented with that time he asked for history off himself (see below), meaning that the rest of the conversation was automatically deleted after 24 hours due to Pichai’s request. He says he was working on a document for an external event.
Moskowitz is pointing out that Pichai didn’t just ask for history off — he also seemingly attempted to delete his request, which makes him look guilty.
He says he didn’t recall deleting it and is attempting to suggest it was a glitch.
Pichai is being grilled about a September 16th, 2008, email from Bill Coughran where he announces the change:
To help avoid inadvertent retention of instant messages, we have decided to make “off the record” the Google corporate default setting for Google Talk.
However, Epic is not highlighting one very relevant passage further down the email:
If you’ve received notice that you’re subject to a litigation hold, and you must chat regarding matters covered by that hold, please make sure that those chats are “on the record”.
Pichai admits that Google kept this default setting ever since; he says he relies on the judgment of Google’s legal and compliance teams — especially Google chief legal officer Kent Walker.
“With respect to this case, you personally did not do anything to turn history on for your 1:1 and group chats, yes?”
He did not. Mark “CHATS” on your bingo card.
He says he marked documents attorney / client privilege even when he was not seeking legal advice — “just so the emails weren’t forwarded.” Has anyone told you that is wrong? “Not that I recall.”
Do you understand sitting here today that you should not be doing that? “Yes.”
You can mark “Fake Privilege” on your bingo card, folks.
