Did Google ever pay one of these fines?
Yes. They are a significant enough expense that they are a separate line item on SEC filings (search for "European Commission fines" in https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000165204419...).
Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
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Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#32That's small money for the Google. Last year they gave Google €4.34bn fine and in year 2017 they gave Google €2.42bn fine.
Unlikely: google has a 2017 revenue of 109.65 Billion US dollars. that's up to 5 % (conversion rates guessed) of it's total REVENUE. This will hurt their profits even more. A fine of this magnitude really makes the difference between funding a new product / moonshot or not I figure.
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#33Google needs to be broken up. If Microsoft could be broken up, Google deserves it 100x. They control way too much.
Google does indeed need to be broken up, but much less than Microsoft. Google has actually done good for the whole world with their open source initiatives, opening of webm, etc - plus all(?) of their products are easily replaceable, unlike say windows which has exclusive programs written for it.
If by open source you mean free if they can keep your data and then some, then sure.
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#34> They were setting chrome as default browser in android. Also they did not allow changing the default search engine so easily. Isn't this the same case with Safari on iOS devices? Update: I posted this before the motivation was published.
I guess the difference is market share...
And the fact that iOS is installed on devices made by Apple itself.
Android is the OS used by different phone manufacturers.
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#35I was wondering where funds from such a fine go:
"Fines imposed on companies found in breach of EU antitrust rules are paid into the general EU budget. This money is not earmarked for particular expenses, but Member States' contributions to the EU budget for the following year are reduced accordingly. The fines therefore help to finance the EU and reduce the burden for taxpayers."
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#36Then look at GDPR, which is a mess imho, and article 13 too
GDPR is quite good actually, we will just need to find a way to use its power for good.
It's good for US tech because it is yet another cost and restriction EU startups have to face before they can grow to scale and profitability.
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#37Google needs to be broken up. If Microsoft could be broken up, Google deserves it 100x. They control way too much.
Google does indeed need to be broken up, but much less than Microsoft. Google has actually done good for the whole world with their open source initiatives, opening of webm, etc - plus all(?) of their products are easily replaceable, unlike say windows which has exclusive programs written for it.
I don't define surveillance capitalism as "good for the world".
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#38The EU feels to me like one of the few forces for good in the world at the moment
There was a commentary in the German media in context of Brexit that I think really think sums the EU and her role in the world up nicely:
"Brexit shows what we have in the EU. She clears up issues among neighbors, grating them into rules and sometimes unsatisfactory compromises. But she grates them small, in a civilized and peaceful way. That's her big achievement." (rough translation by me, sorry)
https://twitter.com/tagesschau/status/1105932622000209921 (in German)
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#39Is there an other article with some background / explanation what Google did in this case? That they were "blocking others" doesn't tell me much. Edit: The linked article is now updated, at the time it was basically just a paragraph stating the fine.
They were setting chrome as default browser in android. Also they did not allow chaning the default search engine so easily.
I believe you are referring to a different case than this one. That Android decision was in July 2018:
> In July 2018, the Commission fined Google €4.34 billion for illegal practices regarding Android mobile devices to strengthen the dominance of Google's search engine.
Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising
#40Did Google ever pay one of these fines?
Seriously, is there any way for us to see if they paid any of this.?