Google Seeking To Promote Rivals To Stave Off EU Antitrust Action (reuters.com) 39
Google is trying to boost price comparison rivals such as Kelkoo in an effort to appease European Union antitrust regulators and ward off fresh fines following a $2.7 billion penalty nearly two years ago. "The European Commission said Alphabet unit Google had used its search engine market power to unfairly promote its own comparison shopping service," reports Reuters. From the report: The company subsequently offered to allow price-comparison rivals to bid for advertising space at the top of a search page, giving them the chance to compete on equal terms. But competitors said the measure failed to create a level playing field. Earlier this month, Google introduced a new link on its search results which aims to drive more traffic to price comparison rivals. British competitor Kelkoo said on its blog that it was one of several companies selected to try out the new link which will initially be available in Germany, France and the Netherlands. EU antitrust enforcers could levy fines up to 5 percent of Google's average daily worldwide turnover if it fails to comply with the 2017 order.
Now THAT... (Score:2)
...is the ultimate Sock Puppet.
Big fine... (Score:2)
5% of daily turnover... that's 0.0137%
$18 million maybe? That's all of Alphabet though.
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Yeah, it's about $18 million. The question is how often is the fine assessed? If it's daily, that adds up quick (just over 1.5 billion a year). If it's one-time, I doubt it registers.
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Damn. Ninja'ed by an AC, and no mod points to bestow.
This may work (Score:1)
Price Comparisson Sites Suck (Score:3)
I don't get it, those sites suck, they just seem to lead from one price comparison site to another in a big ole price comparison circle jerk, interspersed with some of the scummiest looking websites out they, often generating browser warnings about a known attack site. Google's bakes search results to favour it profits and worse than that it's politcs and the egos of it's executives and upon a broad scale. All they need do is start promoting alternate search engines, at government level. Stop using those companies services, direct the public to other services, there are really a quite simply series of steps to take. Look want to punish Google easy, block Gmail addresses on email and respond with an alert to the person attempting contact and provide alternates.
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I generally find them pointless too, but (so the thinking goes), they won't ever be any use if we just let Google squish them all. Google will be the only game in town, and whatever they tell us is all we'll know because there won't be any other source of information.
Whatever they are, they do seem to be able to run a business off what they do (albeit on razor thin margins and questionable utility), and so we should probably let the market decide if they're actually any good or not, rather than just leaving
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If they suck, then so be it. But they should fail because they suck, not because Google is using deceptive business practices.
This is exactly how Microsoft managed to effectively take over the computer industry.
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That's the EU in a nutshell.
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That's the EU in a nutshell.
Yes it is because the EU is not the arbiter of a race where we're seeing which global megacorp can win getting to the absive monopoly position fastest.
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I mean, the better analogy is that they aren't starting the swimming events immediately after the marathon (and with the same participants). Because if they did Omar McLeod would be done with all of them (and possibly win the medals) before Michael Phelps got in the water.
Anti-monopoly laws prevent you from using your dominance in one area (e.g. search) no matter how obtained, from dominating another (e.g. comparison shopping.)
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In related news, world governments have said that, going forwards, police forces worldwide are going to be dismantled so as to allow the the physically strongest to rob and rule over the meek as they please. Pure and healthy competition.
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If a company is large enough it can prevent people from knowing about the alternatives.
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The "internet" is not some new thing that has to be exported from the USA to the EU.
People in the EU are more happy to use an innovative US service than something someone in the EU attempted to design.
What can EU nations gov do?
Use language and police laws to force people in the EU to only use a EU created product/service?
Demand people in the EU pay to use a product made in the EU?
The US service is "free" for consumers and wo