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European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

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Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#611

Post by eveningcoffee »

andybak wrote: post #598
eveningcoffee wrote: post #531

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are chickens in the farm also customers?

Funny but not profound.

Analogy is actually much stronger we like to admit.

Even if chickens would have choice, all they can choose from for their actual survival is another chicken farm.

Over time they have downgraded their ability to survive without support of the chicken farm.

Even if they had some money to pay for the entrance into the chicken farm then collecting their eggs would be much more lucrative business.

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#612

Post by e12e »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #602
e12e wrote: post #599

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the initial complaint: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4780_en.htm > (...) systematically favouring its own comparison shopping product in its general search results pages. The Commission's preliminary view is that such conduct infringes EU antitrust rules because it stifles competition and harms consumer (...) > (...) [Google] may therefore artificially divert traffic from rival comparison shopping s…

it has one principle, a regulated free market. And I'm saying that not only does the government have a terrible track record, there is no evidence that this actually makes any difference to competition. All it does is show that the government can throw their "weight" around. Nothing in the historical record of antitrust should make us confident that the court’s dismemberment of one of the most successful companies in…

I'm against a free market precisely because the governments of Europe have a great track record in the periods they've adhered to "true" labour/socialist values. Universal healthcare, universal access to education, help with housing, regulations on the labour market - all things that have greatly improved lives of consumers.

Centralised power generally means a departure from direct democracy, and that's one reason why I'm not a fan of the EU.

For a great view into why a regulated market might just be better than an unregulated one, have read of:

https://www.amazon.com/Gangster-Capitalism-United-Globalizat...

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#613

Post by noway421 »

ionised wrote: post #257
sguav wrote: post #14

Google's flagship product is the Google search engine, which provides search results to consumers, who pay for the service with their data. anyone else finding the plainness of that last sentence to be staggering? ...

I find it refreshing in its honesty.

It's a pretty populist statement.

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#614

Post by gpderetta »

lucozade wrote: post #467

This is going to sound a bit conspiracy theory but here goes... I was looking at the highlights of the EU competition commission[0]. Is it just me or is there a theme (with a few exceptions) that runs something like: + Large US company XXX gets anti-trust fine. + EU company gets state aid approved. + rinse and repeat Maybe it's just a coincidence but I wonder what the P&L for the Competition Commission looks like giv…

The google fine is the new record, but 9/10ths of the previous largest antitrust fines were given to EU companies.

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#615

Post by grondilu »

MrZongle2 wrote: post #510
grondilu wrote: post #315

Maybe it's time Google enters politics, gains control of the US army somehow, and then threatens to invade Europe if they ever bother them again.

"Maybe it's time Google enters politics..." I think we're long past that point: https://theintercept.com/2016/04/22/googles-remarkably-close...

Great. Just two more steps then :)

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#616

Post by M2Ys4U »

camus2 wrote: post #361
jcranberry wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that's the case then they way Microsoft promoted IE before Chrome was the work of Satan himself.

Microsoft got hit with a huge fine because of IE. The reason Safari got off the hook eludes me, maybe because Apple doesn't have a monopoly on computer OS.

That's exactly the reason. Microsoft were dominant, Apple wasn't.

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#617

Post by Toboe »

siliconviking wrote: post #544
zdkl wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a consumer, I have (much) more trust that my interests are advanced by the EU than google. This is an opinion which I don't feel the need to convert anyone to but I really don't understand the opposite view. Can someone explain why they believe google and other "emerging" power centers saveguard their interests better than the EU?

You mean just like they have forced millions of websites to show the "Warning: This site uses cookies" message (which arguably cost a fortune in compliance costs and user annyoance, but made no difference in the end)? I would encourage a "follow the money" train of thought when thinking about this. My question then becomes: if this money (the $2.7bn) did not accrue to the EU, or was not levied at all, do you still th…

>You mean just like they have forced millions of websites to show the "Warning: This site uses cookies" message

The websites could have just stopped using tracking cookies.

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#618

Post by thinkfurther »

vkou wrote: post #566
jabv wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It is generally conceded in our age that a critically strategic producer has an obligation to the public for the sake of the common good." And what happens if Google says, "f * it, we're not providing a utility, we're not taking traffic from European IPs anymore"? I am no anarcho-capitalist, but I really think more folks should read Atlas Shrugged.

Google isn't a charity, and is under no obligation to serve Europe. It's in Europe, and will remain in Europe because it is profitable to remain there.

This goes both ways.

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#619

Post by M2Ys4U »

ridewinter wrote: post #516

Let's say Spotify began including a music recognition feature similar to Shazam. That would be really useful! Would this decision force Spotify to not include the feature because they have a monopoly on music streaming and it would force Shazam out of business? That just seems plain wrong.

Does Spotify have a dominant market position? They're big, for sure, but I would hardly call them "dominant".

Re: European Commission fines Google €2.42B for abusing dominance

#620

Post by anth1988 »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #445
zdkl wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a consumer, I have (much) more trust that my interests are advanced by the EU than google. This is an opinion which I don't feel the need to convert anyone to but I really don't understand the opposite view. Can someone explain why they believe google and other "emerging" power centers saveguard their interests better than the EU?

Can someone explain why they believe google and other "emerging" power centers saveguard their interests better than the EU? 1. Because it's in their long term best interest to have a customer for life (No political cycle) so they are more incentivized than a politician would be to support the interest of the consumer. 2. They have a more insight into user desires and actions on a day to day basis, meaning they can p…

So they are abusive right up to the point where people start to leave.

That's a huge wide area where you can engage in questionable behaviour.

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