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Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

dispatch.com

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Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#101

Post by stronglikedan »

amluto wrote: post #79
jonplackett wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the suggestion is breaking up alphabet, which is quite literally loads of companies. YouTube, Google search, deep mind, Google fiber, waymo, Fitbit etc Seems pretty easy to break up if you want to.

Which accomplishes what, exactly? Perhaps Google Search, Chrome, and the advertising business could be split. Or Google Search could be split into Google Search 1 and Google Search 2.

Breaks it up into smaller business models, each of which makes it easier for companies with a more narrow, yet aligned, focus to compete with.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#102

Post by bananabreakfast »

ziftface wrote: post #47
jbgreer wrote: post #7

Interesting approach, especially given that they don't seem to be concerned about having internet service providers declared public utilities.

I wish they would do that as well, but that certainly doesn't invalidate these concerns

Sure it does.

It undercuts their entire argument by making it look much more like a political stunt than any kind of serious action.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#103

Post by dilyevsky »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #5

Well, a public utility also doesn't have the right to do this: "You did something wrong, we won't tell you what it was, there's no chance of appeal, and you are now banned from receiving water service again, ever, for the rest of your life, no matter where you move. And don't try moving in with someone else who's still receiving service, because they'll get banned too."

Actually they can. Someone i know has a restraining order from ohio dmv (bmv) for getting into argument there and can’t get dl there. Hilarious regulation coming from the state that completely privatized their dmv services

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#105

Post by [deleted] »

ping_pong wrote: post #22
MarkusWandel wrote: post #5

Well, a public utility also doesn't have the right to do this: "You did something wrong, we won't tell you what it was, there's no chance of appeal, and you are now banned from receiving water service again, ever, for the rest of your life, no matter where you move. And don't try moving in with someone else who's still receiving service, because they'll get banned too."

This is a direct result of their monopoly, which is why Google should be broken up. Because they have such a huge monopoly, they can afford to ignore customers and have a draconian approach to people, and can get away with it. If there were better competition, they wouldn't have been able to ignore their customers. Breaking them up will alleviate this by ensuring that each company needs to be able to survive on their…

[deleted]

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#106

Post by epigen »

Aunche wrote: post #25

While Google is functionally a public utility, it's not something that I want to be regulated like a public utility. If the government can't be trusted to law lines on a map that aren't blatantly rigged to favor their own political party, I can't trust that they won't tamper with search results the same way.

The cost-per-search is negligible even if every user had to pay. Instead of running the search the government could implement policies that make search advertising illegal and thus forcing another business model.

Pay-per-search would be cheap enough for municipalities to negotiate subscriptions for their entire broadband network as a part of broadband service.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#107

Post by sneak »

bananabreakfast wrote: post #84
tyingq wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Senator Herb Kohl: But you do recognize that in the words that are used and antitrust kind of oversight, your market share constitutes monopoly, dominant -- special power dominant for a monopoly firm. You recognize you're in that area? Eric Shmidt: I would agree, sir, that we’re in that area....I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding of monopoly findings is this is a judicial process. From: https://www.businessinsider…

Google would argue that web search is not their market. They are in the business of online advertising in which they most definitely do not have dominant market share.

Google also doesn't have a monopoly on search.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#108

Post by Hamuko »

stale2002 wrote: post #99
Hamuko wrote: post #2

So Republicans have completely flipped on the sovereignity of private companies? Or is this just posturing to please the number one of the GOP (Dave Yost filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of invalidating 2020 votes in Pennsylvania)?

Even republicans are opposed to anti-competitive behavior done by firms with large amounts of market power. You would be hard pressed to find a modern day Republican who thinks that all water, electricity, and telephone services should have their common carrier status changed. Common carrier laws are uncontroversial, on both sides of the political spectrum. Few people would argue in favor of cutting off power and wat…

Wasn't GOP behind the net neutrality protections repeal?

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#109

Post by jolmg »

woodruffw wrote: post #55
jolmg wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Google isn't the only provider of email addresses. In contrast, water utilities typically hold monopoly over their region. EDIT: Many people are replying with some variant that the problem is that Google can block the email account that people have tied to their financial and government services. But the same is true of any other email provider. If Google is somehow turned into a public utility, how does that sol…

I don't know where I stand on the public utility argument, but to make the strongest possible case for this analogy: most peoples' online lives (including their financials) are tied to a singular email address. That email address forms the ground truth for their identity, including being able to access services that they've lost their credentials for. Google's ability to unilaterally revoke access to the account that…

> gives them the kind of power that we'd normally only see in regional monopolies like water utilities.

No access to water from the only provider in your reach, especially if you're kind of broke, really doesn't seem equal to having your email account blocked, when people have very accessible choices of email providers and what they tie to it.

The situation sucks, but looking at this from a public utility perspective seems like an XY problem.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#110

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg »

woodruffw wrote: post #55
jolmg wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Google isn't the only provider of email addresses. In contrast, water utilities typically hold monopoly over their region. EDIT: Many people are replying with some variant that the problem is that Google can block the email account that people have tied to their financial and government services. But the same is true of any other email provider. If Google is somehow turned into a public utility, how does that sol…

I don't know where I stand on the public utility argument, but to make the strongest possible case for this analogy: most peoples' online lives (including their financials) are tied to a singular email address. That email address forms the ground truth for their identity, including being able to access services that they've lost their credentials for. Google's ability to unilaterally revoke access to the account that…

You can get the email address attached to any irl accounts reassigned by presenting yourself to the bank branch in person with ID. Probably there are mechanisms using certified mail as well for places that don't have nearby branch offices. It would be inconvenient but Google does not have the ability to unilaterally separate you from your financial accounts on any kind of permanent basis.
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