Google Attacks EU for Treating It Almost Like a 'Criminal' (bloomberg.com) 75
Alphabet's Google lashed out at the European Union for doling out a "quasi criminal fine of very large proportions" for allegedly thwarting advertising rivals on websites. From a report: At a hearing at the bloc's General Court on Monday, the search giant said the 2019 decision by the EU's antitrust arm to issue the 1.49 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) fine was riddled with errors and should be struck down. The case is the last of a trilogy of EU court fights over cases that set the course for antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's bid to rein in Silicon Valley. It focuses on Google's role as an ad broker for websites, targeting exclusivity agreements for online ads with its AdSense for Search product. In its decision, the EU accused the company of imposing a number of restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party websites which prevented Google's rivals from placing their search adverts on these websites. The European Commission analysis includes "errors of characterization" that led it "to proceed on a false basis in its assessment of the clauses and they have resulted in material errors of analysis," said Josh Holmes, one of the lawyers for Google appearing in court.
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Unfortunately, they have so much money that it is nearly impossible to levy a fine large enough to actually force them to change.
Treating It Almost Like a 'Criminal' (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: Treating It Almost Like a 'Criminal' (Score:2)
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Many of the old Mafia Dons would tell you they were just sharp businessmen.
Many common burglars will tell you the police are persecuting them just for trying to get by.
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"This is the joke you are looking for." But not moderated Funny? Because it's too true?
I used to like the google and hoped it was going to make the world better. Now the evidence is pretty clear and I'm only expecting worse. The google faces an unsolvable problem that no amount of cleverness can overcome: "There ain't no profit big enough."
Sounds like the U.S. (Score:1, Insightful)
Can't get on a plane without being treated like a criminal.
Maybe because you are criminals? (Score:5, Funny)
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The EU doesn't think the EU citizens can compete, so they're just going to steal.
Awwww .... #victim? All the EU is doing is stepping on the dick of a gigantic monopoly that is operating the biggest and most intrusive espionage operation in human history and making it squeal. This is a move in the direction of #freedom and #privacy. It's funny how you US wingnuts obsess about this free market and privacy stuff but then transform into whiny little #victims when somebody else starts kicking around the omnipresent US based Orwellian surveillance giants that you lot are so paranoid about tha
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Do try to keep up. The EU's complaint has nothing to do with privacy issues. And "palette" is a term associated with a range of colors or musical tones. The word you're looking for is "pallet". The English language can be a bitch; especially when you're emotionally overwrought.
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Do try to keep up. The EU's complaint has nothing to do with privacy issues. And "palette" is a term associated with a range of colors or musical tones. The word you're looking for is "pallet". The English language can be a bitch; especially when you're emotionally overwrought.
Oh do try to read posts before responding. For one thing I ranted about the hypocrisy of US wing nuts on the topic of free market fundamentalism as much as privacy. Google is whining about any move to restrict their ability to violate peoples privacy with complete impunity as much as they are claiming #victimhood status over any move to dismantle their monopolies and abuses there of because those two are intimately connected. Google uses its ads as much to track people, even if they don’t have a Googl
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The EU knows the EU citizens can compete, which is why they don't need some foreign search engine. I think the EU wants google to get fed up and leave, so they can make their own search engine. It's not like Google is still a great search engine. In fact, their searches fucking suck these days. The EU should keep fining them until they leave, and then make a better search engine just for the EU.
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I think the EU wants google to get fed up and leave, so they can make their own search engine.
With blackjack and hookers?
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Is there any other kind?
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the EU wants google to get fed up and leave, so they can make their own search engine.
There are several EU-based search engines that have their own index and crawler: ecosia.org, qwant.com, mojeek.com; country-specific: seznam.cz, swisscows.com, fireball.de
They can compete in making a search engine that works reasonably. They can't compete with the cash cow that google developed from their surveillance and advertisement business that generates so much profit (tanks to operating close to the abuse) that, indeed, they can spend a bit more and have a larger index.
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Nah man, I mean enforce their own laws in their own countries. Don't fucking "you mean" me, bud. If I meant that dumb-ass shit, I would have said that dumb-ass shit.
If Google doesn't want their money, Google can fuck off. And no, their search sucks balls recently. Sorry if you work there or something lol. Google deserves this fine for breaking the fucking law. Don't want to pay fines? Don't do crimes.
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The EU doesn't think the EU citizens can compete, so they're just going to steal.
You could equally say that Google doesn't think that Google can compete so it's just going to violate laws instead.
Criminal claims to not be a criminal... (Score:3)
What else is new? If anything, the EU is far too lenient with Google.
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Just the two minutes of hate. Anti-Americanism keeps the EU judges and regulators in power, is great with the populace because it shifts problems to a foreign "enemy" and it gives them something to justify their existence. It is a cushy job repeatedly calling Google and Microsoft on the carpet, all the while letting Chinese and domestic interests get away with carte blanche.
#victim?
Maybe they need to clean their own house?
Coming from the US that's like Jordan Peterson telling other people to clean up their room: https://i.redd.it/o5apv6iodnr6... [i.redd.it]
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Are the Russians still trying to breed distrust between the EU and the US? Shouldn't you be focusing on the fact that your country is a fucking joke and the whole world is laughing at you and your clown-czar Putin?
ALMOST like a criminal (Score:3, Interesting)
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In a market economy (such as Capitalism), it is very much the business of government to keep the markets healthy and level. If a corporation violates the laws and regulations put in place to achieve that, it is very much government's business to apply penalties.
If I rob the liquor store (that is, if I act like a big asshole), are you saying it isn't the government's place to do anything about it?
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Irrelevant. Do you or do you not believe that a government is within it's authority to penalize anti-social acts that have been forbidden by laws and regulations?Should the cops just shrug and wonder why they were hired at all?
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Google's changed over the years (Score:5, Funny)
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Ah, stupid printers missed some punctuation. It's supposed to say "Don't! Be evil!"
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OF COURSE they're like a criminal! (Score:1, Insightful)
Google probably commits more tax fraud than anyone else on the planet, only they use lawyers with briefcases to get away with it. Like a criminal. As a criminal. With a criminal intent. There's only so much lipstick you can paint on that pig. -- But it should strongly, solidly build a case for C-Suite executives of egregarious companies, bad companies, and just plain rotten companies to be held accountable for all of the bad that their company does in the world. Instead governments just let them get
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Re: OF COURSE they're like a criminal! (Score:5, Informative)
If you refuse to understand the law, you put yourself at its mercy. Tax deductions and credits aren't fraud.
It's too easy. (Score:1)
Re: It's too easy. (Score:1)
Different jurisdiction, different rules. (Score:3)
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Fuck off then. One country does not decide how all other countries on the planet act. Except you're special and think you deserve that honour. You don't.
Re: Different jurisdiction, different rules. (Score:1)
If we fuck off, as you put it, there will still be one utterly amoral, nuclear-armed country left to dominate you.
I don't think you'll prefer them to us.
Re: Different jurisdiction, different rules. (Score:2)
You seem to be confusing NATO with NAFTA. NATO is a military alliance which includes much of the EU. NAFTA is a trade alliance that includes Canada and Mexico.
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The level of arrogance is astounding. Using Mercator projection has it's consequences.
1) If American companies do not want to respect EUs law, they can stop doing business here. Your corporations are not entitled to doing business anywhere, especially while also dodging taxes.
2) You accuse EU of doing business with Russia. In 2020 America imported $452.58B worth of goods from China, potentially financing the next war. Hypocrisy?
3) What even was the bit about climate propaganda. It is not clear if you believ
If it walks like a duck etc (Score:3)
Re:On the one hand I can't stand Google (Score:5, Insightful)
Google has chosen to break the rules, repeatedly.
Google has been consistently under-punished, repeatedly.
In what fantasy land is that robbery?
Re: On the one hand I can't stand Google (Score:1, Troll)
When the government writes the rules specifically to extract money from existing business models, it's pretty close to robbery. It's no different than a local mob charging for protection. It's basically waiting to pounce on successful business models.
The one that comes to mind is the EU forcing Ireland to raise taxes. They're not legislating a business environment as much as they are searching for legislative opportunities for wealth extraction.
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Oh yeah tax havens are totally cool. Why can’t folks just leave their very legal business model alone.
Re: On the one hand I can't stand Google (Score:2)
Here in the U.S., there are many alternative approaches to taxation. In Texas, it's all about taxing real estate. In California, it's all about taxing income. In Florida, they make bank on excise taxes.
They're all very different places with different needs, and justifiably different tax regimes.
Ireland and Google entered into a perfectly legitimate and legal arrangement. Ireland's government, elected by the Irish people, set the tax rates based on what they thought would be a benefit to the Irish people.
It'
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Except it wasn't perfectly legitimate and legal, given that Ireland had signed an EC treaty already back in the 70's that prohibited them from such preferential treatment of companies.
Get your facts right.
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I just googled it and it said you’re wrong. Checkmate shills.
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When Ireland joined the EC in 1973, the tax harmonization rules were already in effect, they were further strengthened in the 80's. Then, when the EC became the EU, further amendments were made, as well as with the Lisabon treaty etc. So your googling might be rather weak.
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See there you go lying again. Aren’t you the guy who said those anti static bags that you get with ICs and other electronics will protect you from the NSA if you put them over your head?
How’s that working out for you or do I have you mixed up with someone else?
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Going for personal attack is weak.
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This isn’t a personal attack I don’t think they’re a person.
Re: On the one hand I can't stand Google (Score:2, Interesting)
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In a way, I agree with him. All extraction of valuables under coercion is robbery.
OTOH, civilization as currently organized depends on governments practicing this, because otherwise the issued currencies would be worthless.
So. Google *IS* a criminal, and deserves to be treated as such. Governments are required to commit various evils, including robbery, for civilization to be even meta-stable. Governments claim a monopoly over the use of force, and need to enforce that within their borders. They aren't
A Titan corporation vs a Titan who can fine you... (Score:1)
* The EU against Apple, resulting in huge fines...
* The EU against Facebook/Meta, resulting in huge fines...
* The EU against Google/Alphabet, resulting in huge fines...
Notice anything in common, here?
I'm not saying that there is necessarily anything inherently "wrong" with a government entity fining an organization when that organization has legitimately broken the law -- but I would direct your attention to the unstated commonality: All of these companies are international entities which were originally
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More like US corporations are fucking dangerous so you’d better fuck with them on a regular schedule or they’ll contribute to the decline of your civilization.
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Yeah, that you, like many others here with their America-centrism view of the world, can only see the US corporations.
And it appears to be quite typical. A lot of people only see what affects them themselves while they couldn't care less what happens to others.
In this case it's not even affecting themselves, it's affecting the mega corporations in their nation, that somehow managed to brainwash regular citizens into creating some kind of loyalty towards them, while they t
In other news criminals everywhere (Score:2)
In other news alleged criminal is upset with cold hearted accusations by prosecution. Unfair!
You break the law, you are a criminal (Score:2)
If you break the law, as established by a court of law, then you are a criminal and treated as such.
Now, you may argue that the laws are unfair, you may question the ruling (something that Google is doing officially by appealing), but by definition, if you commit a crime (including antitrust crimes), then you are a criminal. And the court of law is the entity that determines if you committed a crime or not.
It's never surprising... (Score:3)
Michael Jackson (Score:2)
EU are you okay?
Are you okay EU?
You've been hit by
A Smooth Criminal
"almost" isn't good enough. (Score:1)