Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google loses fight over record $4.7B EU antitrust fine

cnbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 254 posts

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

#221

Post by dlcarrier »

silexia wrote: post #179
maxldn wrote: post #49

> Europe’s top court has upheld Google’s fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices. If they lost the case, and the appeal was dismissed, what is ‘alleged’ about it?

[flagged]

The EU doesn't have any equivalent companies. Out of the highest 50 grossing companies in the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_companies_by_r...) the only ones in the EU are Lidl's parent company, a handful automakers, and one French oil conglomerate. Grocery has practically no margin, the big European auto makers are all declining rapidly, and the EU already does everything it can to make existence impossible for oil conglomerates.

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

#222

Post by vitally3643 »

silexia wrote: post #179
maxldn wrote: post #49

> Europe’s top court has upheld Google’s fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices. If they lost the case, and the appeal was dismissed, what is ‘alleged’ about it?

[flagged]

The US should have fewer scummy companies.

Do note that the US also famously brought a recent antitrust case against Google.

The evidence here is that Google is the one acting badly and being punished in accordance, by both the EU and the US.

Unless of course literally everyone in the world is wrong except you.

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

#223

Post by catlikesshrimp »

silexia wrote: post #179
maxldn wrote: post #49

> Europe’s top court has upheld Google’s fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices. If they lost the case, and the appeal was dismissed, what is ‘alleged’ about it?

[flagged]

Trump said that (unsurprisingly, he did say something along those lines)

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

#224

Post by dlcarrier »

lopis wrote: post #21
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…

The EU's DMA mostly losing its fight against Apple is what's driven Google to make similar moves, which will eventually lead to the elimination of F-Droid and other truly third-party markets, and may even make open-source or even freeware as untenable on Android as it is on iOS.

Worldwide markets for communications are based on the notion that bandwidth and infrastructure is too limited and expensive to allow competition, so effectively every country has adopted a model of overseeing government-mandated monopolies or oligopolies with consumer-protection regulations to counter the lack of competition. The EU has shown that the more those protections try to crack down, the more they fail, and as long as competition is unfeasible or outright illegal, consumers will suffer.

There's a reason an iPhone costs significantly more than a much more capable iPad, and that iPads had USB-C ports well before iPhones. If we had a cell-phone system that was as open as the ISM bands that WiFi operates on, we would have much better hardware for much cheaper.

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

#225

Post by f6v »

petesergeant wrote: post #172
f6v wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a very real barrier to building tech companies. We couldn't listen to Spotify at work during the time people seriously called Berlin the "SV of Europe" (our office was in the neighborhood called "SV Backyard"). Why? We didn't have enough bandwidth, and the wait time for fiber was measured in years.

I remember 2008 very differently, was this a very localized Berlin problem?

Nah, I’m talking 2016. I have no idea about commercial internet outside Berlin. But my residential connection in suburbs of Aachen in 2015 was copper.

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

#227

Post by jimnotgym »

Tangurena2 wrote: post #203
jimnotgym wrote: post #125

"Europe's top court on Thursday upheld Google 's fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices." Are they 'alledged', it seems the court doesn't think so!

In many European countries, news agencies use "alleged" until conviction or appeals are completed. Truth as an absolute barrier to defamation is a purely American ideal.

I live in one of those countries, and this is true while sub judice, but this is the top court rejecting an appeal. It is decided, no alleged about

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

#228

Post by f33d5173 »

Tangurena2 wrote: post #203
jimnotgym wrote: post #125

"Europe's top court on Thursday upheld Google 's fine of around 4.1 billion euros ($4.67 billion) over alleged anti-competitive practices." Are they 'alledged', it seems the court doesn't think so!

In many European countries, news agencies use "alleged" until conviction or appeals are completed. Truth as an absolute barrier to defamation is a purely American ideal.

1. This is an american news organization

2. As you can see in the quote, the appeals are complete

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

#230

Post by Fnoord »

dylan604 wrote: post #219
Fnoord wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't Google's money if they wrongfully profited it, and are fined. It belongs to the victims. The government of the victims will invest it in making the victims less dependent on the perpetrator? Well played.

In general, yes, but I disagree with "It isn't Google's money". But it is. It's right there in their accounts. Possession is 9/10ths of the law as they say.

In the end it is legal tender, owned by the government of said legal tender. But Google owes another legal entity money. They're in debt to that other legal entity, and they should pay said debt (pay the fine). It is actually 4.7 billion EUR.

And on top of all of the above, there's another reason Google owes us money. Google does not even pay fair taxes.

Post reply on HN