Former Exec Says Google Didn’t Do ‘Evil Things’ To Gain Power

Tim Armstrong, a former Google exec, said the tech giant didn’t rely on “evil things” to attain dominance in the search engine realm, CNBC reports.

Armstrong, speaking on “Squawk Alley,” said Google had an expertly-executed strategy that propelled it to the point where it now faces scrutiny from regulators.

On Tuesday (Oct. 20), the company was sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for alleged unlawful practices relating to antitrust concerns. CNBC reports that Google is alleged to have cut off competitors from key distribution channels that let Google keep its status as the most prominent in both search and search advertising.

The lawsuit accuses Google of monopolizing the markets it operates in, with statistics showing 80 percent of U.S. search inquiries taking place on Google-owned platforms.

Google, CNBC reports, has said it believes the lawsuit is “deeply flawed.” The company’s position is that people use its search features because they want to, rather than because they’re forced or have no other options.

But Armstrong recalled the company’s early days, when it had “basically almost perfected” execution on one side, while on the other, was competing with several big-name rivals around the world, starting as a smaller firm and working their way up over years.

He said he didn’t want to take a stance on the specific lawsuit against the company now, but his statements sought to paint Google in a positive light.

“I think Google is an incredible company … but it’s not because I don’t think they were doing evil things,” he said, according to CNBC. “I think they had incredible execution and they ended up in a position where they were able to do deals.”

The deals he’s talking about are those Google struck with companies like Apple and Samsung to become the default search engine on their mobile phones, CNBC writes.

The DOJ has been scrutinizing Google for months now, continuing a trend of regulatory eyes on big tech’s dominance of various fields.