Regular readers of this column have been following the drama of Google’s presence in Europe. Subject to lawsuits, antitrust investigations, attacks in the press, and hostile rivals, Google has had to pay fines, alter its products, and spend countless sums in legal fees. There have been calls for the company to be broken up, and though the search giant has a solid lock on more than 90 percent of European searches, its popularity among the general public hasn’t translated to political clout in Brussels.
But that may soon change. As reported by Politico, Google has set out to win over its skeptics in Europe. It began in early May, when Google Europe’s chief executive Matt Brittin confessed that the company didn’t “always get it right” in its treatment of policymakers in Europe. It was an unexpected admission, though Brittin stood firm on the antitrust charges against Google, he acknowledged that the company’s Silicon Valley operating style may have been a poor fit in places like Germany, France and Spain.
While Brittin himself plans to spend more time in Brussels, Google has already begun the kind of PR campaign that only a firm with its resources could pull off: VIP parties for YouTube’s 10th anniversary, public exhibitions highlighting its work with museums and galleries, €150 million contribution to newsroom technology, among other ventures. It’s an effort to court politicians and policy-makers who could cost Google billions in antitrust fees — and quite possibly change its business in Europe entirely.
While the antitrust case makes its way to resolution, the strikes against Google haven’t stopped coming. In early June, Disconnect, an app developer, complained to European authorities that Google was abusing its market power by not allowing its app to appear in the Android store. “We filed the complaint because after thousands of people downloaded our Android app, which protects users from privacy violations and malware, Google kicked the app out of the Play Store twice,” said Disconnect co-founder Casey Oppenheim. Disconnect creates apps that prevent third parties from tracking Android users. For Google, this is a violation of their standard terms of agreement, which prohibits “apps that interfere with other apps (such as by altering their functionality, or removing their way of making money).”
The Disconnect case reinforced the perception that Google was muscling out its opponents. It is the precise narrative about Google that the company is trying to change with its efforts to make nice with Europe’s top officials.
But will any of this — the parties, the public works, the mea culpas — make a difference?
It’s possible. There’s no doubt that part of Google’s troubles in Europe have to do with the perception of an American search giant with a dominant position squeezing out rivals and controlling market share. The Politico story notes that more than a dozen officials interviewed indicated that they had felt “belittled and their opinions brushed aside.” There’s no doubt that something might be gained from Google’s attempt to win friends and influence people.
That said, perception is only part of Google’s challenge. What it can’t fix — and what I have argued underlies much anti-Google sentiment — is Europe’s homegrown difficulties in launching and growing technology startups. Weak venture capital environments, burdensome labor laws, complicated bankruptcy systems — these are challenges to new business formation in Europe that preceded Google’s growth and would outlast any efforts to bring Google to heel.
In that universe, any company whose Android operating system powers eight out of every 10 phones in the world, whose revenues exceed that of several EU countries combined, and whose search product commands nine out of every 10 Europeans is going to be subject to scrutiny and suspicion.
But for Google, this context isn’t something they can control. What they can do is play a canny PR game, the kind of move that has helped them succeed across so many product lines. In other words, if you can’t beat ’em, charm ’em.
