WEBVTT - Google Dominating Search Ads More Than Ever

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, I'm Carol Masser and I'm Jason Kelly. It's time

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<v Speaker 1>for this week's cover story. Well, Carol. For millions of

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<v Speaker 1>small business owners looking to advertise during the pandemic the Internet,

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<v Speaker 1>it's become an even more essential avenue of commercial life.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right, Jason, And for many reliance on Google with

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<v Speaker 1>its near monopoly of web search and search advertising, well,

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<v Speaker 1>it has only grown over the past few months, especially

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<v Speaker 1>for therapist, lawyers, or anyone else offering a service. Other

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<v Speaker 1>search engines are essentially afterthoughts, and it's not like anyone

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<v Speaker 1>else goes to Facebook or Amazon to buy a therapy session.

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<v Speaker 1>So when Google's prices surge, small business owners can find

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<v Speaker 1>themselves in a bind. And while being big or charging

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<v Speaker 1>high prices, it isn't an antitrust violation. The US Justice

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<v Speaker 1>Department and almost every state attorney general they are preparing

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<v Speaker 1>antitrust cases that are expected to allege that Google's dominance

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<v Speaker 1>is illegal. Google dominates search ads more than ever is

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<v Speaker 1>working through that. If you're a therapist or any small

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<v Speaker 1>business owner, really you live and die with Google. Regulators

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<v Speaker 1>may step in. By Mark Bergen and Shelley Banjo in March,

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<v Speaker 1>Ellen Ross's business came to a standstill. Ross is a

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<v Speaker 1>psychotherapist accustomed to sitting across from patients, helping them deal

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<v Speaker 1>with their deepest traumas and fears. When the pandemic started

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<v Speaker 1>shutting the economy down, Ross shut her San Jose office too.

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<v Speaker 1>She nixed plans to hire another therapist and began adjusting

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<v Speaker 1>to video therapy, which meant, among other things, building breaks

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<v Speaker 1>in between sessions. I can't look at a screen as

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<v Speaker 1>long as I can interact with human beings, says Ross,

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<v Speaker 1>who spent years counseling in hospitals before setting up her

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<v Speaker 1>own practice in and then there was the Google problem.

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<v Speaker 1>In the before times, Ross spent about twenty dollars a

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<v Speaker 1>day on search ads to promote her practice. That worked

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<v Speaker 1>well enough, people would search for things like therapist near me,

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<v Speaker 1>and she would bid for those terms at Google silent auction.

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<v Speaker 1>If she won the auction, adds for her practice True

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<v Speaker 1>North Psychology would appear at the top of search results.

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<v Speaker 1>Google charged for each click. In twenty nineteen, she spent

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<v Speaker 1>about fifty five hundred dollars. Starting in April, Ross's calculus changed.

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<v Speaker 1>Americans were stuck at home, some juggling home schooling and work.

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<v Speaker 1>Others newly jobless, They were anxious and searched the web

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<v Speaker 1>for help, sometimes looking for video counseling. Ross noticed that

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<v Speaker 1>the prices for her regular keywords jumped sharply. She was

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<v Speaker 1>still finding patients, though they often arrived after trying one

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<v Speaker 1>of the proliferating virtual therapy start ups such as Better

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<v Speaker 1>Help and talk Space, and it was becoming prohibitively expensive

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<v Speaker 1>to buy the Google ads to attract them. Ross wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>sure what to do. Google, as she well knew, has

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<v Speaker 1>a near monopoly in web search. It has eighty seven

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<v Speaker 1>percent of the U S market by some estimates. Its

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<v Speaker 1>next largest competitor, Bing has about seven percent. So Ross

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<v Speaker 1>you she couldn't simply stop buying Google ads. If she did,

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<v Speaker 1>she'd lose out on any new business. But continuing to

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<v Speaker 1>pay so much didn't seem sustainable either. I'm a fairly

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<v Speaker 1>good psychologist, she says, I'm a terrible marketer. Ross is

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<v Speaker 1>one of millions of small business owners whose reliance on

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<v Speaker 1>Google has only grown during the pandemic, when the Internet

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<v Speaker 1>has become the main avenue of commercial life. That dependence

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<v Speaker 1>is at the heart of the most high profile antitrust showdown.

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<v Speaker 1>Since Uncle Sam went after Microsoft in the nine nineties,

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<v Speaker 1>the US Justice Department and almost every state attorney general

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<v Speaker 1>are preparing antitrust cases that are expected to allege that

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<v Speaker 1>Google's dominance is illegal. High prices in and of itself

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<v Speaker 1>isn't an anti trust violation. Neither is being big, says

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<v Speaker 1>Herbert hoven Camp, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania

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<v Speaker 1>Kerry Law School. The bigger question is whether Google is

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<v Speaker 1>abusing its power. Google got a preview of the government's

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<v Speaker 1>likely argument on July ninth during a five hour Congressional

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<v Speaker 1>anti trust hearing. It opened with questions about Google's stranglehold

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<v Speaker 1>on search and included lawmakers calling four tech chief executives

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<v Speaker 1>cyber barons and unregulated bullies. Sunder Picha, I, Google's well

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<v Speaker 1>dressed and reserve chief executive officer, began by ticking off

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<v Speaker 1>family owned US companies that have benefited from Google ads

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<v Speaker 1>and services. Nearly one third of small business owners said

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<v Speaker 1>that without digital tools, they would have had to close

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<v Speaker 1>all or part of their business During COVID, he said

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<v Speaker 1>via video feed from Google's headquarters. The company gave out

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred and forty million dollars in add credits to

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<v Speaker 1>small companies as part of its pandemic response. In his testimony,

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<v Speaker 1>pitch I also asserted that the company operates in competitive

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<v Speaker 1>global markets. The point was reinforced the following day when

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<v Speaker 1>Google announced that its ad intake fell for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time ever because of the crisis. The company still finished

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<v Speaker 1>the spring quarter with on one billion dollars in cash

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<v Speaker 1>on hand. When it comes to advertising, Google likes to

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<v Speaker 1>broadly define the market it competes in to include even television,

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<v Speaker 1>and it likes to point to its fierce rivalry with

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Amazon. But for therapists, lawyers, and anyone offering

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<v Speaker 1>a service, this argument is bogus. People peruse Facebook for

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<v Speaker 1>the latest news or baby photo, not for psychological care.

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<v Speaker 1>No one goes to Amazon to buy a therapy session.

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<v Speaker 1>Other search engines are afterthoughts. Ian Palombo, a therapist in Denver,

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<v Speaker 1>bought bing ads right after the pandemic hit. But it

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<v Speaker 1>was such a throwaway proposition he didn't even check to

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<v Speaker 1>see how they did. I mean, it's bang right, he says.

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<v Speaker 1>Therapists talk about Google like they would about any utility.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just another check, only this one goes to the

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<v Speaker 1>fourth biggest company in the world and comes with no guarantees.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a lot like a poker table at the casino,

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<v Speaker 1>says Daniel Weindler, founder of marketing for Therapists. Anyone can play,

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<v Speaker 1>but unless you know what you're doing, you're likely to

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<v Speaker 1>get rolled. The last time the global economy cratered. In

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand nine, Google released its first economic impact report.

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<v Speaker 1>Regulators and other critics were questioning its sway over web publishers,

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<v Speaker 1>whether the search engine was too big and powerful. Peppered

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<v Speaker 1>with glossy, smiling photos of mom and pop business owners

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<v Speaker 1>in each state, Google's reports showed that far from consolidating

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<v Speaker 1>economic power, the company was helping the little guys. A

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<v Speaker 1>bookstore in Mishawaka, Indiana, a lighting supplier in Kinnebunk, Maine,

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<v Speaker 1>a remodeling service in Aberdeen, South Dakota, each had grown.

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<v Speaker 1>Google said thanks to Google Ads. Selling therapy, though isn't

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<v Speaker 1>as straightforward as selling a book or a light fixture.

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<v Speaker 1>It can be expensive and for some still comes with

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<v Speaker 1>the stigma. There is just a really significant human need

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<v Speaker 1>that a lot of us struggle with, says Wendler, who's

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<v Speaker 1>been helping therapists by Google. Ads for the past five years.

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<v Speaker 1>At thirty two, with his rectangular glasses and untidy facial scruff,

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<v Speaker 1>he could pass for an engineer at the Google Plex.

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<v Speaker 1>He also has Asperger syndrome and wrote a guide book

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<v Speaker 1>Improve Your Social Skills, full of tips for others with it.

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<v Speaker 1>Those interests prompted Wendler to pursue a career as a counselor.

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<v Speaker 1>While in grad school. He set up a marketing practice

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<v Speaker 1>for therapists and now handles the budgets for roughly twenty

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<v Speaker 1>of them a month. He wrote another book, Clicking with

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<v Speaker 1>Clients Online Marketing for private practice therapists. In the first

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<v Speaker 1>months of the pandemic, he saw the prices of keywords

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<v Speaker 1>related to therapy jump as much as fift with some

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<v Speaker 1>terms that had once cost seven dollars or eight dollars

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<v Speaker 1>fetching ten dollars a click. Prices went higher as searches

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<v Speaker 1>and buyers piled on. There's only so much inventory, he says,

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<v Speaker 1>referring to the slots available for search page ads, that

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<v Speaker 1>is driving prices up, up, up. Up. Prices are a problem.

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<v Speaker 1>But even more frustrating for Wendler and other search by

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<v Speaker 1>fires are the tweaks Google has made in recent years

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<v Speaker 1>as it pushes to automate wherever it can. Today, there

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<v Speaker 1>are two basic ways to buy search ads. A business

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<v Speaker 1>owner can pick out search terms manually, or take the

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<v Speaker 1>approach Google prefers, hand over a budget, select an industry,

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<v Speaker 1>and let Google software figure out which ads will get

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<v Speaker 1>the most clicks in Google ease. These are known as

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<v Speaker 1>smart campaigns. The idea is to make search ad buying

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<v Speaker 1>as simple as possible, while Google uses what it promises

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<v Speaker 1>is the latest and greatest in machine intelligence to maximize

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<v Speaker 1>profits for itself and its customers. Our advertising tools are

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<v Speaker 1>designed to help small businesses compete on a level playing

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<v Speaker 1>field with large businesses, even Fortune five hundred companies, says

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<v Speaker 1>a Google spokesman. Local businesses, even those without marketing expertise,

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<v Speaker 1>can create compelling ads in minutes that reach the right audiences.

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<v Speaker 1>But automation doesn't work terribly well for therapists. Many are

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<v Speaker 1>specialists focusing on, say, couples, counseling, or trauma, just stinctions

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<v Speaker 1>that Google software doesn't necessarily make. As a result, some

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<v Speaker 1>therapists who use the automated approach end up entering auctions

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<v Speaker 1>for broader keywords where the clicks don't lead anywhere. For

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<v Speaker 1>one of Wendler's clients, Google system once suggested PTSD, a

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<v Speaker 1>search many people make for idle research rather than to

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<v Speaker 1>find an expensive counselor Another client wasted a tenth of

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<v Speaker 1>his two thousand dollar monthly Google ads budget this way

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<v Speaker 1>before Weindler caught the problem. In another feature, Google even

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<v Speaker 1>automatically writes ad copy if you're selling a widget or something,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe that works for you. Wendler says people are less

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<v Speaker 1>thrilled with psychologists who sound like they've been programmed. That

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<v Speaker 1>hasn't stopped Google from pushing therapists to adopt smart campaigns.

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<v Speaker 1>Wendler recalls Saturday calls from Google representatives asking him to

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<v Speaker 1>turn on automated ads for his clients. He politely declines

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<v Speaker 1>and asked them not to call again. They wait three

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<v Speaker 1>months and call again. Google is essentially competing with itself,

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<v Speaker 1>he says. I think Google's ultimate goal is that you

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<v Speaker 1>give them your credit card, and that's the only thing

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<v Speaker 1>you do. The control such companies as Google exert over

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<v Speaker 1>their markets is one key reason lawmakers are trying to

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<v Speaker 1>check big text monopoly power. Consider Amazon's subscribe and Save feature,

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<v Speaker 1>which lets shoppers place a standing order for raisin brand

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<v Speaker 1>or toilet paper. It's convenient, and it reduces the incentive

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<v Speaker 1>to try competitors. It locks you in, says Luigi's Ngalas,

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<v Speaker 1>a finance professor at the University of Chicago Booth School

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<v Speaker 1>of Business. The same could be said of Google's smart campaigns,

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<v Speaker 1>But Wendler and other search marketers say Google's drive to

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<v Speaker 1>automate has dovetailed with the reduction in the quality of

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<v Speaker 1>customer support. For years, a search ad buyer could call

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<v Speaker 1>a Google helpline and get someone on the phone. Starting

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<v Speaker 1>about two years ago, Google began outsourcing these services, and

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<v Speaker 1>buyers say the quality of support quickly diminished. It feels

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<v Speaker 1>like you're speaking to someone who's just talking out of

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<v Speaker 1>a binder, says Matt Kaufman, founder of Therapy Practice Accelerator,

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<v Speaker 1>a healthcare marketing firm. During the pandemic, Kaufman says he

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<v Speaker 1>hasn't been able to get a human on the phone

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<v Speaker 1>at all. Google moved its customer support to chat bots.

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<v Speaker 1>The Google spokesman says the company scaled back support services

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<v Speaker 1>because of COVID nineteen. Practically every antitrust investigator who's looked

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<v Speaker 1>into Google has seen a web presentation called Focus on

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<v Speaker 1>the User. It was created in fourteen by Yelp and

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<v Speaker 1>trip Advisor, local review sites and longtime Google critics, whose

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<v Speaker 1>central complaint was that Google was expanding its ambitions beyond

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<v Speaker 1>mere web search in ways that hurts small companies. As

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<v Speaker 1>rivals tell it, Google search engine once did one thing

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<v Speaker 1>spit out a list of ten blue links, but starting

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<v Speaker 1>in the mid two thousands, search results began to include

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<v Speaker 1>above the links actual answers to questions like how hot

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<v Speaker 1>is the sun and what are the signs of heat stroke?

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<v Speaker 1>Google pulled these facts from other websites, resulting in searches

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<v Speaker 1>where consumers didn't bother clicking on any links. Yelp and

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<v Speaker 1>others argue this represents a theft of their intellectual property,

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<v Speaker 1>siphoning off their web traffic. Gradually, this extended to phrases

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<v Speaker 1>like where is the best Sichuan food in London? With

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<v Speaker 1>the top results from Google Maps After Maps, Google did

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<v Speaker 1>the same with its own services in travel, hotel booking,

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<v Speaker 1>and shopping. In each case, Google says it shows the

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<v Speaker 1>best results for consumers. Competing businesses say this is an

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<v Speaker 1>open and shut abuse of monopoly power. Google has done

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<v Speaker 1>something similar with healthcare. At times, the company has seemed

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<v Speaker 1>intent on capitalizing on doctor Google, that ubiquitous modern phenomenon

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<v Speaker 1>of self diagnosis by web search. In twenty fifteen, Google

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<v Speaker 1>teamed up with the Mayo Clinic to begin listing symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>and treatments directly in search results, rather than showing web links.

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<v Speaker 1>At that point, Google said one in twenty searches were

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<v Speaker 1>health related. About two years ago, the company hired David Feinberg,

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<v Speaker 1>a hospital executive and former psychiatrist, to lead a new division,

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<v Speaker 1>Google Health. Fineberg's remit is to create an electronic medical

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<v Speaker 1>record system for hospitals that functions like Google Search, and

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<v Speaker 1>to help revamp Google searches about health. His division created

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<v Speaker 1>a special search page for anything related to COVID nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>in May, and rolled out features specifically about mental health.

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<v Speaker 1>People can now book virtual care appointments directly in Google Maps.

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<v Speaker 1>Searches for terms such as anxiety disorder or PTSD produced

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<v Speaker 1>buttons linking to a clinically validated questionnaire and other resources.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of folks come to Google and ask us questions,

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<v Speaker 1>Fineberg said in a May interview with YouTuber Dr Mike Varshavsky.

0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:54.000
<v Speaker 1>You can do your own in essence screening for depression

0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.960
<v Speaker 1>and anxiety, so then you can see that you're not alone.

0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:01.080
<v Speaker 1>That he was speaking on YouTube, Google in house streaming

0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:05.480
<v Speaker 1>service was fitting. Those self assessments happened directly on Google,

0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:08.000
<v Speaker 1>rather than on the sites of would be competitors such

0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:12.000
<v Speaker 1>as web md or zoc. Doc Feinberg, through a representative,

0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:16.079
<v Speaker 1>declined to comment. Google says that he doesn't control paid ads.

0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:20.040
<v Speaker 1>These Google owned mental health checkups on Google's own search

0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:23.760
<v Speaker 1>engine compound a problem marketers have complained about for a decade,

0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:27.320
<v Speaker 1>namely that it's very hard to attract users without paying

0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:31.960
<v Speaker 1>Google for ads. If someone near Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California,

0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:36.000
<v Speaker 1>searches for treat depression, they might see ads for one Medical,

0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:39.440
<v Speaker 1>a concert health service in which Google is itself an investor,

0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:44.080
<v Speaker 1>plush Care, a tech company that specializes in online prescriptions,

0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:47.720
<v Speaker 1>and Better Help, a virtual counseling service. To the right,

0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:51.520
<v Speaker 1>they'd see an information box where Google lists various treatment options.

0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:55.400
<v Speaker 1>The so called organic search results the old ten blue

0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:58.760
<v Speaker 1>links come below all of that. In fact, so many

0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:02.000
<v Speaker 1>search results are stacked of ads that one healthcare investor

0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.600
<v Speaker 1>says his firm advises portfolio companies not to bother tweaking

0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:09.960
<v Speaker 1>websites to hire in Google search listings. Only paid results matter.

0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.600
<v Speaker 1>This is propelled an entirely new kind of competitor that

0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:17.240
<v Speaker 1>is more or less the inverse of someone like Ross,

0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:20.560
<v Speaker 1>marketers that have a sideline in therapy, such as Better

0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:24.560
<v Speaker 1>Help and talk Space. When Ross loses Google auctions, it's

0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:28.360
<v Speaker 1>mostly to these therapy consolidators. They have hundreds of millions

0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 1>in venture capital and corporate backing and use an uber

0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:35.120
<v Speaker 1>like contract labor model, acquiring customers and sending them to

0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:40.080
<v Speaker 1>a sprawling nationwide network of counselors and coaches. Ross holds

0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:43.520
<v Speaker 1>a doctorate in clinical psychology, which required six years of

0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.960
<v Speaker 1>graduate school. She usually charges two hundred and fifty dollars

0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:51.040
<v Speaker 1>an hour. Better Helps therapists tend to be licensed counselors,

0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:54.840
<v Speaker 1>clinical social workers, or psychologists with a master's degree and

0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:58.520
<v Speaker 1>at least three years experience. The company charges from thirty

0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.920
<v Speaker 1>five dollars to fifty secession. Full time therapists earn from

0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:06.200
<v Speaker 1>fifteen to thirty dollars an hour. I could probably make

0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:09.120
<v Speaker 1>more money working at the grocery store. Ross says they

0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:14.160
<v Speaker 1>pay terribly. It's abysmal. Alan Mattis, president of better Help,

0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:18.000
<v Speaker 1>says retention is high among his company's eleven thousand therapists.

0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:22.400
<v Speaker 1>Some therapists with thriving private practices and affluent areas can

0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.080
<v Speaker 1>earn more than they could online, he says, but there

0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.120
<v Speaker 1>are providers on the platform who makes six figures annually,

0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:32.760
<v Speaker 1>definitely not abysmal. Google is in a way a co

0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:35.480
<v Speaker 1>conspirator in turning the business of mental health into a

0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.560
<v Speaker 1>marketing game. Better Helps app has been downloaded six hundred

0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:44.360
<v Speaker 1>thousand times so far, in increase from the same period

0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:49.160
<v Speaker 1>a year ago, according to research firm Censor Tower. During

0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.040
<v Speaker 1>the first couple of months of the pandemic, new customers

0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:55.000
<v Speaker 1>complaining of stress and anxiety doubled from the year before.

0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:58.880
<v Speaker 1>Mattis says the app saw a similar influx of independent

0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.400
<v Speaker 1>therapists joining its platform, many of whom had no choice

0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.080
<v Speaker 1>but to try online care while the pandemic shuttered physical businesses.

0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:09.800
<v Speaker 1>The Google spokesman says a range of companies and nonprofits

0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.880
<v Speaker 1>have bought search ads related to mental health. He notes

0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:15.640
<v Speaker 1>that the company doesn't set ad prizes and that its

0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:20.119
<v Speaker 1>auctions operate fairly for all advertisers. Better Help and others

0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:23.240
<v Speaker 1>like it have another advantage. They don't have qualms about

0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:26.800
<v Speaker 1>asking customers for testimonials to display on their websites, or

0:17:26.840 --> 0:17:30.600
<v Speaker 1>paying social media influencers to tout their networks. That helps

0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:34.520
<v Speaker 1>them boost their rankings on Google, which favors businesses with reviews.

0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:39.160
<v Speaker 1>Many licensed therapists consider that kind of marketing and ethical violation.

0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:42.920
<v Speaker 1>One could argue that the rise of these virtual therapy

0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:47.560
<v Speaker 1>providers is a positive development, making therapy affordable and available

0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.480
<v Speaker 1>at a time when everyone seems to need it, but

0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.639
<v Speaker 1>that would cast better help whose parent company brought in

0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:56.560
<v Speaker 1>more than five and fifty million dollars in sales last

0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:59.800
<v Speaker 1>year in the role of the scrappy challenger and raw

0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:05.080
<v Speaker 1>a sole proprietor as the incumbent. David Cecilene, the Democratic

0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>representative from Rhode Island who led the anti trust hearings,

0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:12.800
<v Speaker 1>challenged pia's contention that Google helps small businesses. Google just

0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:17.360
<v Speaker 1>shows what's most profitable for Google, Cecilene said, Gary Reback,

0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:20.000
<v Speaker 1>an attorney with car and Ferrell who worked on the

0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.320
<v Speaker 1>Microsoft anti trust case, watched that and saw a clear

0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.399
<v Speaker 1>signal that the Justice Department should be more confident to

0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:29.600
<v Speaker 1>pursue a case against Google. There are so many issues,

0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.080
<v Speaker 1>and it looks like Google is on the bad side

0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:36.520
<v Speaker 1>of all of them, he says. By summer, Ross's practice

0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.080
<v Speaker 1>was picking up again. A couple of patients who had

0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:42.840
<v Speaker 1>left town continue seeing her via video. New patients are

0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:47.080
<v Speaker 1>coming in stressed by the unrelenting pandemic, dissatisfied with whatever

0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.479
<v Speaker 1>they've been trying as relief. She's even reopened her office

0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.880
<v Speaker 1>for those who truly need in person care. To prepare,

0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.639
<v Speaker 1>Ross spent hours searching for klorox wipes before finding a

0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:01.760
<v Speaker 1>reliable supply at her local liquor store. She's also improved

0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:05.480
<v Speaker 1>her video backdrop, adding new wallpaper, a potted plant, and

0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:09.200
<v Speaker 1>a smart looking wooden desk and bookshelf. Since more people

0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.960
<v Speaker 1>seem to be seeking care, she's back to paying Google

0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:15.080
<v Speaker 1>about twenty dollars a day. She says she's feeling better

0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:18.280
<v Speaker 1>about her business. She's also telling her patients that she's

0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:23.280
<v Speaker 1>preparing herself for two more years of pandemic dislocation. Google

0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:26.480
<v Speaker 1>could be in for even more political hurt. It may

0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.240
<v Speaker 1>have to pay record fines and make deep changes to

0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:33.240
<v Speaker 1>its ad business. Politicians from both parties open to probe

0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:36.560
<v Speaker 1>into a data sharing arrangement Feinberg's health division set up

0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:40.080
<v Speaker 1>with hospitals. Google has waited more than nine months to

0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.080
<v Speaker 1>close its two point one billion dollar acquisition of Fitbit,

0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:48.200
<v Speaker 1>which makes fitness trackers. Regulators, politicians, and critics have denounced

0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.199
<v Speaker 1>the deal, worried about handing over a company that tracks

0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.440
<v Speaker 1>our bodies to one that knows so much about our minds.

0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:57.800
<v Speaker 1>To win approval, Google has promised that it won't use

0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:01.439
<v Speaker 1>any data from Fitbit's devices for its primary business of

0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:04.439
<v Speaker 1>selling ads. Thanks so much for listening to this week's

0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:08.000
<v Speaker 1>cover story. Check out this week's magazine for many other stories.

0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.200
<v Speaker 1>That magazine on newstands right now, also online at Bloomberg

0:20:11.280 --> 0:20:13.400
<v Speaker 1>dot com, and of course, on the Bloomberg terminal. I'm

0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:16.760
<v Speaker 1>Carol Masser and I'm Jason Kelly. Check us out every day.

0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:20.439
<v Speaker 1>It's our daily Bloomberg Business Week radio show, also carried

0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:23.000
<v Speaker 1>live on YouTube. This is Bloomberg