Name: Google says Amazon is its biggest rival
Uploaded: 2014-10-14
Duration: 1 min 30 s
Description: Google says Amazon is its biggest rival

When you think of Google's rivals, the names of other search engines might pop up. Bing. Yahoo. But what about Amazon? That's who Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has picked out as the tech giant's biggest competitor on the internet. In a speech Monday night in Berlin, Schmidt argued, people don't think of Amazon as search. But if you are looking for something to buy, you were more often than not, looking for it on Amazon. And that came on the same day the company announced it would be scaling up its online shopping service. Google Shopping Express, like Amazon, lets users order goods and delivers them to their doorstep. That tidbit which has garnered its fair amount of coverage, was just one part of a broader argument against the criticism that Google controls too much of the internet. Which has been a big issue in Europe. Google clinched a settlement in its high profile case with European Union antitrust regulators to address concerns that it is abusing its dominance in online search. That tentative settlement was made in February, and as CNET reports it has since come under fire from regulators and competitors. Who fear Google could use its huge market share in Europe, around 90 %, to quash competition. Compound that broader narrative with criticism of Google's handling of European taxes and it's easy to understand why some analysts are labeling Schmidt's visit to Berlin and his speech on Monday as a charm offensive or something like it. It's more of an explanatory offense. It seems like the evidence is mounting and public sentiment is mounting against Google. During his visit to Berlin, Schmidt also met with Germany's economy minister Sigmar Gabriel on Tuesday