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EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

telegraph.co.uk

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Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#31

Post by csomar »

throwaway4719 wrote: post #30
mehrdadn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens to people's emails in Gmail if they exit business in Europe? Surely people won't just be cool with their leaders making them lose access to their emails? EDIT: I guess I didn't mean "what if Google was forced to do this overnight?", but rather I meant more like "couldn't Google make this backfire by doing this overnight?".

That's one part of the negotiation puzzle. EU would want it's citizens to retain access to their google-hosted emails. Legally speaking, I'm sure there's plenty of ways the EU can force Google to do things it currently does not want to do. I'd say the EU has lots of negotional angles currently to win things from Google. That is kind of what you get when you have more or less universal legislation power over 40% or so…

> That is kind of what you get when you have more or less universal legislation power over 40% or so of the world's purchasing power (please correct me, I just bullshitted that guess).

Europe GDP is 20.9 Trillion USD. The world GDP is 107 Trillion USD. So Europe is only 20% of the world GDP.

But one can make the argument that EU citizens are better connected and spend more on digital goods. Though I'd be surprised if it drives more than 30% of Google revenue.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#32

Post by matthewmacleod »

dmitrygr wrote: post #25
matthewmacleod wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which regulations have "resulted in low investment and slow innovation"?

High tax rate and difficulty of firing someone would be my two guesses

The tax rate is broadly comparable to the US. Tech companies’ success is therefore based on their ability to fire people without cause?

Honestly, this sort of thing is often thrown around as a trope and I don’t think it holds much water.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#33

Post by csomar »

kokx wrote: post #29
citilife wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they really can. Effectively, they'd have to block Google in the EU. Otherwise, Google can technically just stay in the U.S. and sell services. Ad's don't have to be location based, pretty sure a lot of advertising is elicit materials (such as porn) anyway - which already may not be allowed. Unless you stop people from just heading to the top search engine in the world, they'll keep using it.

There are several things the EU can do. First of all, they can freeze and/or seize Google's assets in Europe. Like bank accounts and real estate. Or even more important to Google, all of their European datacenters. The EU can also disallow sales of Google's products, like any android phone. Or products like the chromecast, and don't forget Nest and Google Home. And selling ads in Europe from a foreign country isn't t…

> There are several things the EU can do. First of all, they can freeze and/or seize Google's assets in Europe. Like bank accounts and real estate. Or even more important to Google, all of their European datacenters.

> The EU can also disallow sales of Google's products, like any android phone. Or products like the chromecast, and don't forget Nest and Google Home.

Without giving them plenty of time to pullout? This will probably trigger panic across of the multinationals.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#34

Post by cf498 »

kuschku wrote: post #17
citilife wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they really can. Effectively, they'd have to block Google in the EU. Otherwise, Google can technically just stay in the U.S. and sell services. Ad's don't have to be location based, pretty sure a lot of advertising is elicit materials (such as porn) anyway - which already may not be allowed. Unless you stop people from just heading to the top search engine in the world, they'll keep using it.

There’s a simple trick known as asking the banks where Google keeps their money to freeze those assets.

And that place is called the US.

This didnt even work when it was simply a question of having transnational companies on the level of facebook having to pay taxes.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#36

Post by Retric »

emiliobumachar wrote: post #14
Retric wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The political backlash could make such a withdrawal rather temporary. Which would IMO push Google into staging such a withdrawal.

It would be quite a bold move. Alternatives exist, and it's very much contrary to Google's interest that people try it, and people will try it if Google stops working.

These things take some time. They could add a banner saying they are shutting down in say 6* weeks with a link saying they are exploring options while trying to comply etc etc.

With 6 weeks being the required notice before everyone is laid off or whatever.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#37

Post by flexie »

idbehold wrote: post #28
flexie wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What backlash? Save from a well run PR and lobby campaign by Google, few consumers would mind.

You're kidding, right? You don't think people would be upset when they cannot access Gmail, Google search results, or Google Maps? And a message in each service asking users to contact their representatives if they want access to the services again would be all that is required.

That would be a very unlikely consequence of breaking up Google.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#38

Post by idbehold »

flexie wrote: post #37
idbehold wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're kidding, right? You don't think people would be upset when they cannot access Gmail, Google search results, or Google Maps? And a message in each service asking users to contact their representatives if they want access to the services again would be all that is required.

That would be a very unlikely consequence of breaking up Google.

Oh, this could be a preemptive move by Google before enforcement of the breakup even happened.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#39

Post by spython »

dmitrygr wrote: post #25
matthewmacleod wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which regulations have "resulted in low investment and slow innovation"?

High tax rate and difficulty of firing someone would be my two guesses

Difficulty firing someone makes people feel secure at work. Security is one of the essential things you need to be innovative. Desperation and anxiety doesn't drive innovation.

Re: EU competition chief holds threat of breaking up Google

#40

Post by qeternity »

Slansitartop wrote: post #27
qeternity wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percent of the EU uses Gmail? Right off that bat, that's a massive inconvenience.

Could such a breakup order or sanctions be specific to certain businesses? Google has a strong position in the email space, but it isn't anywhere as dominant as it is with search and web advertising.

> Google has a strong position in the email space, but it isn't anywhere as dominant as it is with search and web advertising.

What?? The whole point of a breakup is precisely because they are dominant in all of the things you mentioned. Also, my comment is irrelevant if they actually comply with a breakup order. If they don't, and they withdraw from the EU, it doesn't matter how the breakup is structured because they cease doing business in the EU anyway.

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