Brian Fung | @[email protected]

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

RT @mkraju: "I don't think that's the analogy I would use," Lindsey Graham told me when asked about Barr saying “other than slavery” a nati… — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Trump goes on to boast that there’s no legal mechanism for this payment because “nobody” has suggested it before, as if everyone was too dumb to figure it out and not that doing so would raise serious ethical questions. https://t.co/g0ApGOPNm1 https://t.co/VDyJPZaUn2 — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Just went back to the recording and it’s actually worse than it sounds — Trump seems to be claiming that the companies were “willing” to pay up. Here’s the full quote and video. https://t.co/YwNQRQG7dc https://t.co/YqIOrAb2eQ — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Trump also said he was “not going to be happy” if the deal turns out to be ByteDance retaining majority ownership of TikTok. “Conceptually, I can tell you I don’t like that,” he said. “If that’s the case, I’m not going to be happy with that." — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

At the press briefing, Trump says that “amazingly” he’s not legally allowed to demand payment to the US government in exchange for approving a ByteDance-Oracle deal. https://t.co/EsudxliTrx — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

RT @shanvav: Inbox: The Trump admin/Treasury is sanctioning 2 Russian nationals for their alleged involvement in a phishing operation in 20… — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

RT @donie: Google says it shut down 299 YouTube channels as part of a influence operations linked to China https://t.co/rRtSQoyWGB https://… — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

RT @JohnHendel: New: White House has settled on NTIA's Nathan Simington to fill the FCC seat of Mike O'Rielly Announcement likely coming… — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

For years, experts in disinformation have constantly warned against fighting the last war and becoming myopically obsessed with foreign election meddling. Because we’re doing it well enough to ourselves. https://t.co/nuS8lcmLDn — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

And they’ve wrapped. Overall some really good substance once we got the theatrics out of the way. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Lee gets on the media bashing train, too, positing that one reason publishers are complaining about falling revenues is because of their political bias. Hmm, yes, all those partisan local newspapers everyone hated that got gobbled up by private equity… it’s their own fault! — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Lol Klobuchar complains that the media aren't covering this hearing and that they’re more interested in something “that happened on CNBC this morning.” Hi senator, I’m here… — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

(It’s worth noting too that Google has had a major role in making mobile advertising a thing, thanks to Android. Which seems both like a credit to Google on its claims about ad prices as well as a detriment in light of the allegations about tying.) — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Adam Heimlich, the CEO of Chalice Custom Algorithms, says Google’s claim that it’s lowered ad prices is misleading. "The biggest reason prices go down is because mobile advertising is cheaper, and mobile advertising has become a much, much bigger share." — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Sen. Klobuchar delivering an epic rant against the US’s track record of lax antitrust enforcement right now, getting wonky and referencing specific cases and even Bork (!). “Relying on the courts right now… you can't say that this [Google] is going to be taken care of." — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

David Dinielli of the Omidyar Network argues that Google’s citation of Facebook and Amazon as competitors is like "a company that holds a monopoly on billboards defending itself by saying advertisers can buy magazine inserts instead. It’s simply not a defense." — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

@geoffreyfowler I went back to try to find this commitment. It seems Google left the door open at the time to “changes to the handling of data” as far as Nest was concerned: https://t.co/LAG2VmFJD7 — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Of course, Google famously promised that it would never merge Google data with DoubleClick data, and then it did anyway. Blackburn hammers Google on that point. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Sen. Klobuchar asks Google about the Fitbit deal. Google’s Harrison says the acquisition is “not about data.” “I am committing today that we will never mix that data with our ads data in a way that will show ads towards users of these things,” Harrison says. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

“This looks like monopoly on monopoly in a classic case of tying,” Hawley argues. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Finally getting more into the weeds here — Hawley is making the case that Google’s control of YouTube and other services generates massive demand for ads, which then basically forces advertisers to come to Google’s ad platform to access those eyeballs. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

And we’re back at political bias claims. “We’ve designed our policies so that political bias is not part of the equation,” Google’s Harrison says. He added earlier that Google’s removed content and gotten complaints from The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight and Democracy Now. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Sen. Cruz presses Google to identify who it thinks is its chief competitors. Google replies with Facebook and Amazon — which is true! — but these companies *also* have antitrust problems of their own. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

This is a similar argument Apple’s made (via commissioned research) on app store revenue shares. But “everyone else does it this way” is a weird defense when, like, in Apple’s case, they were the first movers and everyone followed suit. It’s not like A & G are helpless here. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

A discussion about the revenue that publishers receive from Google. Google’s defense is that it gives publishers as much of a share as its rivals do. “We’re market competitive with the other tools that are out there.” — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

I’m no lawyer but as someone who covers antitrust this seems like an ambitious connection to try to draw. The antitrust world has barely begun to think of *privacy* as a dimension of competition, nevermind a two-step claim about how political bias is a function of market power. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Despite saying this hearing is not meant to create a “political spectacle,” Lee and other GOP senators seem determined to do just that — while trying to frame their political bias complaints as an outgrowth of Google’s “market power.” — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Google says its ads policies are clear and that it’s not requiring The Federalist to do anything, just to make a choice about how to monetize its site. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Sen. Hawley is trying to force Google to admit that it is somehow requiring sites like The Federalist to engage in content moderation as a condition of showing ads. — PolitiTweet.org

Brian Fung | @[email protected] @b_fung

Google’s witness says their advertising terms are clear, and that the company worked with The Federalist on options, but that ultimately the site can choose to go elsewhere for advertising alternatives. — PolitiTweet.org