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DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

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Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#651

Post by yunwal »

tuetuopay wrote: post #581
Timber-6539 wrote: post #549

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything here you accuse Google of doing, Apple is running circles on. Ultimately, if this case goes through Google are right about one thing. The UX on Chrome is going to take a steep nose dive.

Apple does not run the largest advertising network on the planet. As simple as that. Even for the matter of the browser, Apple does not have the same push as Google does. Yes, Safari is the default browser on a phone. But outside of the mobile world, Safari is a rounding error.

In terms of controlling commerce (google’s main line of business), non-mobile is on its way to becoming a rounding error.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#652

Post by placardloop »

IX-103 wrote: post #632
DeusExMachina wrote: post #584

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could sell a lot of the data that Google now gets for free and uses for its ranking algorithms, like Clickstream sells data to SEO tools like AHrefs and SemRush.

Google doesn't use Chrome data for Ads or Search. They're not allowed to based on the TOS, and also they have government regulators watching carefully to make sure they don't make a mistake like that.

The regulators in question are pushing for divestiture of Chrome because they don’t believe that the current structure prevents using Chrome data, so it seems that Google did “make a mistake like that”.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#653

Post by tbrownaw »

addicted wrote: post #446
SpEd3Y wrote: post #417

Arguably out of the big 4 (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon) Google gave the most back to humanity: Android, Chromium, Kubernetes, Google Office suite, the Go programming language, Tensor Flow, Alpha Fold (and Google DeepMind), donating to Linux, etc. All these are things everyone has access to precisely because Google is such a big player and can afford to lose money on innovation that fails. What did Microsoft and…

Google isn’t “getting targeted”. But to answer your question. 1. Microsoft gets left alone - Really? You may want to ask the closest adult near you about this. 2. Amazon - The government has looked into Amazon multiple times. It’s hard to see where Amazon does anything to illegally use its monopoly (they don’t use their shopping advantage to cross sell AWS in any way, or Vice versa). Amazon is genuinely not a bad mon…

> Microsoft gets left alone - Really? You may want to ask the closest adult near you about this.

I've got some bad news for you: 2001 was 23 years ago. It's possible to not just be a legal adult (18) but also old enough to drink (21) and still not have been born yet when that was going down.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#654

Post by binkHN »

moffkalast wrote: post #641
binkHN wrote: post #590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A very artificial arrangement where Google pay "arms length browserco" to maintain [a browser]? Sounds almost like Firefox.

Google to Mozilla: "I'm gonna pay you 400M a year for antitrust to fuck off" Seems like it didn't work though.

Maybe it needed to be a cool billion.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#655

Post by iterance »

SpEd3Y wrote: post #417

Arguably out of the big 4 (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon) Google gave the most back to humanity: Android, Chromium, Kubernetes, Google Office suite, the Go programming language, Tensor Flow, Alpha Fold (and Google DeepMind), donating to Linux, etc. All these are things everyone has access to precisely because Google is such a big player and can afford to lose money on innovation that fails. What did Microsoft and…

Even if you assume the situations are comparable and equitable, which most commenters are focusing on, there is still a problem:

There is no reason to expect the DOJ to pursue antitrust suits against all potentially relevant companies at the same time for analogous reasons. These are complex, labor-intensive cases that frequently play off precedent established by other earlier cases. The idea that Google is being "targeted," by implication unfairly so, is out of line with how complex antitrust law can be, and the simple fact that such cases are typically serialized rather than prosecuted in bulk.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#656

Post by tbrownaw »

guerrilla wrote: post #509
addicted wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google isn’t “getting targeted”. But to answer your question. 1. Microsoft gets left alone - Really? You may want to ask the closest adult near you about this. 2. Amazon - The government has looked into Amazon multiple times. It’s hard to see where Amazon does anything to illegally use its monopoly (they don’t use their shopping advantage to cross sell AWS in any way, or Vice versa). Amazon is genuinely not a bad mon…

> You may want to ask the closest adult near you about this. This doesn't belong on this site. Find another way to say it.

I'm not sure that misunderestimating the amount of time that's passed invalidates the point that it was pretty widely known before apparently being lost to the mists of time.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#657

Post by Thorrez »

whiplash451 wrote: post #636
madeofpalk wrote: post #601

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, but I'm also not sure what the alternative is. Who's going to buy Chrome that also doesn't suffer from the same anti-trust problems? Who would want to buy Chrome? Who would want to fund Chrome? What browser would Android ship? In one view I kind of like the idea that Google would have to shop around and 'buy' a browser for its OS (competition good!), but also that seems ridiculous and easy to fall r…

How about this: sell the browser to the entreprise [1] and use the profit to offer the browser to the public for free, which in turns helps you secure a user base. [1] https://www.island.io/

Google already does sell Chrome to the enterprise at $6/user/month[1]. Disclosure: I work at Google.

[1] https://chromeenterprise.google/products/chrome-enterprise-p...

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#658

Post by stavros »

PittleyDunkin wrote: post #604
niutech wrote: post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does splitting off Chrome as a separate company solve anything? They would still rely on Google for funding (like Mozilla) and being close friends they would do whatever Alphabet tells them to do. A better solution is to implement a bill like DMA in the EU to enforce competition among web browser vendors and fight monopolies.

Frankly, who cares. The important part is that google doesn't own a browser.

Yes, in the sense that me putting a gun to your head and ordering you to stay still isn't the same as me handcuffing you, because you can still physically move.

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#659

Post by CivBase »

How exactly does Chrome make money without leveraging the exact antitrust behaviors that are driving this decision?

Do they become like Firefox and make themselves dependent on Google to pay top dollar for the default search engine? Wouldn't that just make them beholden to their original owner anyways?

Re: DOJ will push Google to sell off Chrome

#660

Post by placardloop »

SpEd3Y wrote: post #417

Arguably out of the big 4 (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon) Google gave the most back to humanity: Android, Chromium, Kubernetes, Google Office suite, the Go programming language, Tensor Flow, Alpha Fold (and Google DeepMind), donating to Linux, etc. All these are things everyone has access to precisely because Google is such a big player and can afford to lose money on innovation that fails. What did Microsoft and…

Google didn’t “give back” any of those things to humanity. Those are all products that Google is selling to you in exchange for your privacy so that they can make a profit. Don’t mistake Google for some benevolent entity that deserves special treatment for being “good”.

If you want to go that path, then Apple also “gave” iPhones to humanity, as well as AirPods, iCloud, iTunes, and is a primary reason that mouse-based graphical interfaces exist. Microsoft “gave” humanity the largest home operating system, the dot net programming languages, Microsoft Office, Xbox, and more. Should we give them all a “get out of jail free” card for their good deeds?

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