Google’s Army of Paid Expert Witnesses
June 27, 2024
Earlier this month, bombshell reporting from the Wall Street Journal revealed that Google retained pro-monopoly lawyer, economist, and former FTC Commissioner Josh Wright for more than a year after they learned about his startling sexual misconduct allegations. Over the course of a decade, Google “donated” hundreds of thousands of dollars to Wright’s academic program so that he would lobby against any antitrust threat to Google’s monopoly.
Amid this news, we took a deep dive into the supposed “expert witnesses” that Google used during the US v Google search trial to find out if they were on Google’s payroll, and if so, by how much. The results aren’t surprising. Google has a fleet of academics and experts it has paid out over the years to lobby for its interest, all with the veneer of authentic debate. These payments come in many forms: as grants for supportive research, donations to their academic institutions, and retained business for an expert’s consulting firm.
Edward Fox, a professor of science at Virginia Tech conducted a “data reduction experiment” on behalf of Google for the trial.
In 2007, Prof. Fox received a $50,000 research award from Google.
In 2007, Prof. Fox gave a presentation at the Google Education Summit.
According to his CV, Prof. Fox has received over 142 research grants with funding from Google and other companies and organizations.
Kenneth Elzinga, a professor of economics at University of Virginia, Elzinga was retained by Google as an economic expert in US v. Google. In June 2022 he submitted an Expert Report on behalf of Google.
Dr. Mike Israel was President of the economic consulting firm Compass Lexecon and a member of the firm’s three-person Global Executive Committee. Dr. Israel testified on behalf of Google in US v. Google in March 2024. During Dr. Israel’s tenure at Compass Lexecon, Google has been a substantial source of business for the firm, retaining economic experts for legal testimony.
In 2022, Google hired Compass Lexecon experts for a case before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleging that Google engaged in deceptive practices.
In 2022, Google hired Compass Lexecon experts to support its acquisition of Mandiant, a cyber defense firm.
In 2021, Compass Lexecon was hired by Google for a case in Spain over intellectual property.
In 2020, Compass Lexecon advised Google during merger proceedings to acquire Fitbit.
Compass Lexecon has long done business with Google, including on antitrust matters.
In 2013, Google hired Compass Lexecon for support in shareholder litigation.
In 2013, Google hired Compass Lexecon experts for an FTC case over the company’s anticompetitive search practices.
In 2010, Compass Lexecon experts worked on behalf of Google in its proposed acquisition of AdMob, a mobile-advertising firm.