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Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

cnbc.com

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Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#21

Post by lopis »

lukan wrote: post #4

“Android provides more choice for everyone and supports thousands of businesses. This judgment fails to recognize our significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC. Sure. Which is why alternative stores like F-Droid are under threat now. https://keepandroidopen.org/

So much happened since 2018 that this ruling feels ancient now. It was about Google making unfair deals with OEMs:

> In 2018, the European Commission slapped Google with the record-breaking penalty on the grounds that it abused Android’s mobile dominance to give unfair advantage to its own apps via pre-installation deals with smartphone makers.

While this specific problem is much better today, specially since of the DMA, things also got so much worse. And even if a new anti-trust ruling would occur today, we could expect it to drag on almost a decade again...

Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#22

Post by hparadiz »

bilekas wrote: post #10
frollogaston wrote: post #5

These are basically meant as tarriffs, right?

No, these are anti-trust fines. If you want to participate in the EU zone, you can't have monopolistic behaviors. It might sound strange for the US, but you can't simply corner a market and then claim it's innovation and 'good for the customer'. The EU has a LONG history of these regulations, it's nothing new but the more rich a company becomes the more these fines are just the price of doing business. Instead, here'…

Google made Android open source for free and you can even see this on this on HN as everyone glazes GrapheneOS. Without Android there would not be an entire ecosystem of software. Google even complied with a previous rulings about search engine choice and browser choice. In fact Android has always allowed you to set those things.

As usual Europe can't innovate so just taxes people out of their market entirely. Why would anyone want to locate their business in Europe after reading a headline like this? Have you guys ever considered making your own operating system? Your own tech companies?

Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#23

Post by realusername »

xienze wrote: post #19
frollogaston wrote: post #5

These are basically meant as tarriffs, right?

More like an ATM. Need some money? Let an American tech company operate with no issue for years and then one day "whoa we checked and you've been violating for years. Who knew? That'll be five billion Euros please."

If anything, the EU has been slow to act, these companies have been operating against all possible antitrust laws for years and continue to do so despite being fined, probably the fine isn't large enough.

Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#24

Post by hparadiz »

xienze wrote: post #19
frollogaston wrote: post #5

These are basically meant as tarriffs, right?

More like an ATM. Need some money? Let an American tech company operate with no issue for years and then one day "whoa we checked and you've been violating for years. Who knew? That'll be five billion Euros please."

That's literally what is happening here. It's a shakedown. Nothing more.

Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#26

Post by 9dev »

throwaw12 wrote: post #11

> U.S. ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder told CNBC that Europe “can’t over regulate” and hit companies with “huge fines” if it is going to participate in the AI economy. Imagine what these companies are doing in the US to their citizens, if ambassador is ready to defend them for violating rules/laws

As he just found out, that's exactly what the EU can do. And as he's about to find out, the EU is way too important a market for the American economy to ignore or pull out of.

Play on your neighbour's yard, obey their rules.

Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#28

Post by MDCore »

netcan wrote: post #16

Apologies for the meta: I feel that our understanding of trust and antitrust, along with the legal and regulatory premises... Just isn't very useful in the 21st century. I understand the motivation, and justification for employing antitrust. Google's business model, and much of modern tech economy is really all about Monopoly-like market power. In fact, one of the main concerns for AI investors is price competition,…

> A company facing market dynamism, price competition... Is unlikely to be investing billions in speculative r&d, for example.

The comparison to manufacturing isn't necessary because this seems to be contradicting by much of tech history itself. Plenty of companies have spent plenty of billions on R&D to outpace their real competitors.

If we're to update our view of monopoly (and I agree we should) it should be to clamp down on them even more.

Re: Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

#30

Post by epolanski »

Why did US antitrust and antimonopoly which has pioneered these concepts has been doing little to nothing for decades?

Google is too big and enjoys a monopoly in too many connected sectors (browsers, mobile os, search, advertising, data). Should've been broken up long ago.

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