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Google's response to the European Commission fine

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Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#91

Post by coldtea »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #41
andrepd wrote: post #14

> (...) connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both . We truly live in the age of spinning, of euphemisms, where words lose all their meaning. All-pervasive advertising, the most insidious technique of consumer capitalism, is now an idealistic connecting of people (why, rather than fining us indeed they should be thanking thanking us for that, they seem to say…

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to read the comments in the other thread happening today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14643712 You'll see people baffled by this decision and generally happy with the service and products google offers. It's just a reminder to remember that what doesn't work for you may be pure bliss for other people.

>It's just a reminder to remember that what doesn't work for you may be pure bliss for other people.

What's pure bliss for some people might also be dangerous and cancerous for society. Segregation was "pure bliss" for lots of folks.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#92

Post by jasode »

_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #48
hoorayimhelping wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to read the comments in the other thread happening today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14643712 You'll see people baffled by this decision and generally happy with the service and products google offers. It's just a reminder to remember that what doesn't work for you may be pure bliss for other people.

You seem to have replied to the wrong comment. I've read through the other thread, I couldn't find a comment that agrees with "connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both."

To me, the comment from theBobBob agrees with the convenience of Google search connecting users to advertisers: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14644022

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#93

Post by matthewmacleod »

perseusprime11 wrote: post #60
matthewmacleod wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not a valid complaint. Fining companies for breaking competition law is totally legitimate.

Sometimes when you go to google search, it will prompt you to download the their app, download chrome, use their native weather, news, etc. It is part of how they iterate on their core search product. If they decide to show Google shopping, isn't that their product decision?

Yes, but literally everything they do with their product is "their product decision" – that doesn't mean it's legal.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#94

Post by [deleted] »

autokad wrote: post #83
hoorayimhelping wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to read the comments in the other thread happening today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14643712 You'll see people baffled by this decision and generally happy with the service and products google offers. It's just a reminder to remember that what doesn't work for you may be pure bliss for other people.

I'm going to get down voted out the wazoo for saying it, but I will voice my opinion anyways. The EU has long used 'anti trust fines' as a way of levying tariffs against US companies.

[deleted]

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#95

Post by coldtea »

staltz wrote: post #80
andrepd wrote: post #14

> (...) connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both . We truly live in the age of spinning, of euphemisms, where words lose all their meaning. All-pervasive advertising, the most insidious technique of consumer capitalism, is now an idealistic connecting of people (why, rather than fining us indeed they should be thanking thanking us for that, they seem to say…

This kind of rhetoric is coming often from tech giants, travestying words and claiming the exact opposite of what they do in practice. There is an interesting parallel to make here with the Soviet Union: they used to set up puppet states which were nominally sovereign, independent, "people's republic", etc, while in practice were obviously just colonies. I guess extremely powerful institutions founded on abusive prac…

>There is an interesting parallel to make here with the Soviet Union: they used to set up puppet states which were nominally sovereign, independent, "people's republic", etc, while in practice were obviously just colonies.

So just like "wars to spread democracy" when it's just oil/control of land/etc?

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#96

Post by coldtea »

dontnotice wrote: post #67
andrepd wrote: post #14

> (...) connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both . We truly live in the age of spinning, of euphemisms, where words lose all their meaning. All-pervasive advertising, the most insidious technique of consumer capitalism, is now an idealistic connecting of people (why, rather than fining us indeed they should be thanking thanking us for that, they seem to say…

It's weird that someone commenting here never read corporate PR before, I guess it's not any weirder than the proliferation of anti capitalist sentiment in a startup incubator community section. Still it's not nearly as nonsensical as this case in which a website operator is being fined billions for not featuring other website some more.

>It's weird that someone commenting here never read corporate PR before

You seem to confuse having never read PR releases with still being outraged by their BS.

Something being familiar doesn't make it right -- or means that only people that have never seen it would ever be enraged by it.

For pointing out "nonsensical" stuff this was a very nonsensical argument. Not even wrong.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#97

Post by interfixus »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #41
andrepd wrote: post #14

> (...) connecting our users with thousands of advertisers, large and small, in ways that are useful for both . We truly live in the age of spinning, of euphemisms, where words lose all their meaning. All-pervasive advertising, the most insidious technique of consumer capitalism, is now an idealistic connecting of people (why, rather than fining us indeed they should be thanking thanking us for that, they seem to say…

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to read the comments in the other thread happening today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14643712 You'll see people baffled by this decision and generally happy with the service and products google offers. It's just a reminder to remember that what doesn't work for you may be pure bliss for other people.

You'll see people baffled by this decision and generally happy with the service and products google offers

You'll also see people (me) baffled by this decision and generally disgusted by the services Google offers.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#98

Post by mattmanser »

duncan_bayne wrote: post #90
autokad wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to get down voted out the wazoo for saying it, but I will voice my opinion anyways. The EU has long used 'anti trust fines' as a way of levying tariffs against US companies.

Upvoted. FWIW, companies in the US have long used 'anti trust complaints' as a means of harming companies they can't compete with (e.g. Microsoft, back in the day).

Yeah, like that pesky Netscape that totally screwed over MS and almost stopped the golden age of web browsers between 2001 and 2006. /s

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#99

Post by tobylane »

autokad wrote: post #83
hoorayimhelping wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd encourage you (and everyone) to read the comments in the other thread happening today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14643712 You'll see people baffled by this decision and generally happy with the service and products google offers. It's just a reminder to remember that what doesn't work for you may be pure bliss for other people.

I'm going to get down voted out the wazoo for saying it, but I will voice my opinion anyways. The EU has long used 'anti trust fines' as a way of levying tariffs against US companies.

Countries with higher standards 'often' have reasons to monitor and eventually penalise international companies from laxer countries.

I fully expect a future superpower to have strict rules in some new area, say China will only take English-language/law services from legal firms in any country if they are zero carbon.

Re: Google's response to the European Commission fine

#100

Post by duncan_bayne »

mattmanser wrote: post #98
duncan_bayne wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upvoted. FWIW, companies in the US have long used 'anti trust complaints' as a means of harming companies they can't compete with (e.g. Microsoft, back in the day).

Yeah, like that pesky Netscape that totally screwed over MS and almost stopped the golden age of web browsers between 2001 and 2006. /s

Hey, I had a 'best viewed with any browser' icon on my sites at the time (in fact http://dougal.sourceforge.net/ still boasts one ...).

Doesn't alter the fact that Netscape was incapable of competing with Microsoft (in fact I think you sort of made my point, there) once the latter got their arses into gear.

Edited: Wow! The "Viewable With Any Browser" campaign site is still up, in 2017. I wonder if they're keeping it handy for the forthcoming Webkit monopoly ...

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