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Google's response to the European Commission fine

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31–40 of 237 posts

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#31
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree the products in the shop results are pretty bad. But i don't need the EU to protect the few dozen commercial comparison sites in the netherlands. At least google is honest about the links being sponsored. Tweakers is not.

How so? If something is advertising it is clearly labeled and green at the top, right? Or is there more going on?

Sorry to burst your bubble but all prices on pricewatch are paid for.

"Tweakers.net brengt 24 uur per dag, 365 dagen per jaar informatie over technologie, consumentenelectronica en daaraan gerelateerde onderwerpen. De bezoekers van Tweakers.net hebben een bovengemiddeld groot budget voor de aankoop van hardware, software en consumentenelectronica. Om deze mensen te informeren over de laagste prijzen en beste aanbiedingen worden deze bijgehouden in de Pricewatch. In 2014 werd de Pricewatch door het Nederlandse publiek uitgeroepen tot Beste Vergelijkingssite. Op dit moment bestaat de database uit ruim 800.000 producten met 2.5 miljoen prijzen bij ruim 350 winkels. Heeft u een webshop en wilt u deze graag aansluiten bij de Pricewatch? Neem dan contact op met onze verkoopafdeling via pricewatch@tweakers.net of telefoonnummer 020-204 2133"

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#32
post #11

I think it would be worth adding these opinions of other US-based companies: "A number of US companies - including Oracle - published a joint letter addressed to Vestager this week in support of penalties against Google for “anticompetitive conduct.” It said: "As you near final decisions in the Shopping and Android cases, Google and its allies will no doubt continue to press through its lobbying and public relations…

Disclaimer Oh I contain multitudes how can you process this comment? Sorry it's not reduced to one non-dissenting ideological line, but contains ideas you may have trouble reconciling. Abort now if ambiguity crashes your harddrive.

Can you process that I am both: happy that Google is fined.

And also: it's a bit rich of Oracle to say that. Larry: "It's not enough that we win. Everyone else must lose!"

But losers are always gonna hate and pile on the winner. They wouldn't be making up their own fictions of Google's "evil" if they hadn't lost.

Are they gonna take responsibility for their failed business practices? Or keep blaming the Giant? By golly, if they were successful they'd have a mighty different view.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#33
The big question is: Do we want Google to grow into a black hole that sucks in all data on planet earth and leaves no room for small companies?

I for one don't want that. I like startups. Let them do the shopping comparison. Let them do all kinds of stuff. Don't let the giants swallow everything.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#34
I really would like, that google stop be hypocrite.

They started with slogan "don't be evil"

Lately google is been everything else than that. Spying and reading my emails "for advertising - yeah right", keeping tracking of my location "android", listening my conversations and also blocking me and thousands of other users out of they services.

I don't want to sound too cynical, but is there anything else google could violate in my privacy?

This e-commerce favouritism is just a very small top of very very big iceberg that is waiting to be exposed.

Sad times for humanity, its really sad how greedyness of corporations is endless and how much they are ready to violate our privacy.

I'm happy that google have to pay penalties, but I wonder do they come more evil than berofe now.

I hope that people would stop to use these corporation products.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#35
Argument based on what their data says consumers prefer kinda misses the point of the fine - the EU doesn't argue whether people prefer it or not, but whether Google is abusing it's market dominance in am anti competitive way. That way might well be innovative and could even have good customer satisfaction, but still be anti competitive.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#36
Compared to other antitrust cases, this seems very thin. 2.4 billion for nefarious price comparison site ranking? I don't get it. This is on a par with the fines given to banks for literally ripping off their customers (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfina...)

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#37
post #17
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In return EU have healthy job market with ~40hr work week and proper healthcare. Most of EU companies are not trying to keep me as developer in a golden cage, offering me everything so I wouldn't have to go home anymore. There are many healthy business hubs here in Europe (London, Cardiff-Bristol-Bath, Berlin and many others), maybe they do not have that superstar status as SV but they are still good places to be. So…

the only "healthy" in the EU is the EU-Socialism

And the fact that laws are proposed and made by unelected officials in private. Is that the future?

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#38
post #27
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In return EU have healthy job market with ~40hr work week and proper healthcare. Most of EU companies are not trying to keep me as developer in a golden cage, offering me everything so I wouldn't have to go home anymore. There are many healthy business hubs here in Europe (London, Cardiff-Bristol-Bath, Berlin and many others), maybe they do not have that superstar status as SV but they are still good places to be. So…

> have healthy job market Reminder: the EU's unemployment rate is twice as high as the US'.

The US might have a better job market (by some cherry-picked metrics), but the EU doesn't have a bad one (I'll grant that there are notable exceptions, but then you'll have to grant me the same for certain US states).

The point is that you're playing with words.

Moreover, you have to factor in things like healthcare, life expectancy, literacy rates, access to education, danger involved in unemployment, crime rates, unemployment pensions, etc if you want to make a useful decision as to which of the two systems is more dysfunctional than the other.

-=EDIT=- : viz "cherry-picked metrics", the quality of a job market is more than just the proportion of people employed. Let's not forget other relevant factors:

- job stability

- employee protection

- workplace hazards & injury compensation

- vacation & sick leave

- retirement pensions

- mandated employee benefits (transportation, remote-work assistance, etc.)

- maternity / paternity leave

- etc

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#40
post #3

European commissioners should read a couple of Paul Graham's essays. No wonder the EU doesn't have the equivalent of a Silicon Valley. "How to Be Silicon Valley": http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html "Why Startups Condense In America": http://www.paulgraham.com/america.html

I think these articles make really good points. But they seem completely off-topic. Nothing in there makes the connection between antitrust laws and a Silicon Valley economy.
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