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Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

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Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#171

Post by MBCook »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #117
lysace wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From an outsider POV (holding Alphabet stock!): The US legal system seems quite broken.

It is. Enforcement is incredibly slow (all of the monopolies Google has been ruled against for were obvious in 2014, with appeals they will not face penalties until at least 2030 for most of it), and we have a dictator running the country who will create or erase any case with the right amount of fealty payments. (Google's million to the inauguration fund just... wasn't enough.)

So much of this should have been stopped long long ago, like the purchase of Doubleclick.

We’re dealing with fallout decades later and trying to rule on that.

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#172

Post by crazygringo »

benoau wrote: post #149
scarface_74 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bing - you know the search engine by the struggling Trillion dollar market cap company - is free to match Google’s offer.

Except Google's offer is funded by their (court-ruled) advertising monopoly... which neither Bing nor all other competitors combined can compete with.

You really think Microsoft, a company worth $3.8 trillion, doesn't have enough money to pay for placement?

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#173

Post by sylens »

I think ultimately this is a good decision. The web has flourished in part because Google has supported Chrome so well over the years since they are incentivized to do so. You don't have to use Chrome (I don't) to benefit from this second order effect.

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#174

Post by raincole »

Hansenq wrote: post #31

This seems like a very sensible and logical conclusion by the judge to me. An exclusive contract with Apple/Samsung isn't great, but even Apple testified that they would not have accepted any other searcch engine because everyone else was worse. You can't make restrictions on what Apple is allowed to do because Google violated some law--if Apple wants to make Google the default, they should be allowed to do so! The b…

> Users can switch to Firefox/Safari (Mac default)/Edge (Windows default); they don't because Chrome is better. Forcing Google to give up one of its best products is effectively eminent domain by the government to a private company.

Yeah. People on HN just don't use Windows, at least not a freshly installed one. Windows does nudge you to use Edge [0]. On PC, Chrome is not just competing fairly: it's competing at a disadvantage! Yet it just keeps winning.

[0]: https://x.com/frantzfries/status/1628178202395873286

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#175

Post by bogwog »

This is the worst possible outcome for the internet. Google gets to enjoy the spoils of their illegal anticompetitive business practices, they're emboldened to continue violating the law, and the market remains utterly fucked. Also, Firefox catches a stray bullet because fuck you that's why.

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#176

Post by yamazakiwi »

wiredpancake wrote: post #156
jonas21 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not see ChatGPT and Claude as viable alternatives to search? They've certainly replaced a fair chunk of my queries.

You are losing braincells relying almost entirely on ChatGPT.

I'm losing braincells relying on Google Search shoving ad riddled trash in my face and even worse AI results. Gemini frequently just straight up lies to me. Saying the opposite of the truth so frequently I have experienced negative consequences in real life believing it.

The only people who are being homogenized or "down-graded" by Chat GPT are people who wouldn't have sought other sophisticated strategies in the first place, and those who understand that Chat GPT is a tool and understand how it works, and it's context, can utilize it efficiently with great positive effect.

Obviously Chat GPT is not perfect but it doesn't need to be perfect to be useful. For a search user, Google Search has not been effective for so long it's unbelievable people still use it. That is, if you believe search should be a helpful tool with utility and not a product made to generate maximum revenue at the cost of search experience.

Would you say that people were losing braincells using google in 2010 to look up an animal fact instead of going to a library and opening an encyclopedia?

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#177

Post by 01100011 »

IshKebab wrote: post #116
stackskipton wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feels like judge was looking for any excuse not to apply harsh penalty and since Google brought up AI as competitor, the judge accepted it as acceptable excuse for very minor penalty.

AI is a competitor. You know how StackOverflow is dead because AI provided an alternative? That's happening in search too. You might think "but ChatGPT isn't a search engine", and that's true. It can't handle all queries you might use a search engine for, e.g. if you want to find a particular website. But there are many many queries that it can handle. Here's just a few from my recent history: * How do I load a share…

Google is the only serious competition to Nvidia right now. AI is both a threat to their core business and a core strength of their business. They invented transformers and a cheap inference chip. Their models are top-tier. I think google will be fine.

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#178

Post by inquirerGeneral »

jm4 wrote: post #160
intsunny wrote: post #5

The headline is not great because Google will obviously appeal the ruling to the appeals court of DC, and if they have to, the Supreme Court. A lot can happy from now and then. And this may take many years to grind through the court system. I wonder if there exists AI models of all the super senior and important judges so we can venture how this will play out through the court system.

Why would they appeal? This appears to be a huge win. What more could they reasonably wish for?

[dead]

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#179

Post by rprend »

deepsquirrelnet wrote: post #54
coro_1 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Quite why the judge is so concerned about the rise of AI factoring in here is beyond me. Maybe because this remains Googles biggest threat. I'm still more impressed by other models. Public ones at least.

Google’s biggest threat is their own deteriorating search results. Gen Z/alpha are interesting barometers, because many of them probably can’t remember a time when Google search didn’t suck. I would use Google if there was anything to find. At this point, just figure out if you’re looking for a reddit post, a Wikipedia article or a github repo and go to the source — or let Claude do it for you.

Google sucking isn’t google’s algorithm getting worse; it’s the internet getting more competitive and polluted. If you magically turned on the recommendation algorithm from 2010 but with today’s internet, the results would be far far worse.

Re: Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts

#180

Post by inquirerGeneral »

pier25 wrote: post #21
intsunny wrote: post #5

The headline is not great because Google will obviously appeal the ruling to the appeals court of DC, and if they have to, the Supreme Court. A lot can happy from now and then. And this may take many years to grind through the court system. I wonder if there exists AI models of all the super senior and important judges so we can venture how this will play out through the court system.

So Google has to appeal they're an illegal monopoly but the judge still thinks it's ok for them to keep Chrome?

[dead]
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