5 ms·

>It can be illegal to use your market dominance in one area (search) to reinforce or create market dominance in other areas I think it's a stretch to say that

>It can be illegal to use your market dominance in one area (search) to reinforce or create market dominance in other areas I think it's a stretch to say that searching for HVAC business listings and searching for HVAC business reviews are really different markets. If google had an HVAC subsidiary and they suppressed all search results and ads for competing HVAC companies, that would be abusing their dominant position in the search market to create dominance in another market. But is it really monopolistic behaviour to use their web search dominance to succeed in a slightly more specific sector of the web search market? You can use google to find reviews of products and services. They advertise alongside those search results. That is their core business. Yelp is a straight-up competitor. "Google is better than us in the market we compete in" isn't a valid anti-trust complaint.

simion314 9y ago
I think the point here is that Google is not returning the best results but pushing it's own other services on top of the list even if in this case other review services are better.
- tyingq 9y ago
  And even when the searcher is VERY specific that they want Yelp...it's right in the query.
  - mattnewton 9y ago
    ..why didn't they go to yelp then?
    - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
      To a large percentage of Internet users, entering something into the Google search bar IS how they go places. (The address bar is a very strange mystery to plenty of people.) That's a big part of why Google is not permitted to act the way they are. They have become more or less the front door to the Internet, and hence, cannot unfairly prioritize their own products over others'. A big part of why tech users don't understand why Google is being subject to antitrust action is that a lot of people in the tech industry literally have no idea how everyone else uses their computers. Like not understanding that people tend to go to Yelp by Googling "yelp" and clicking the first link. (Which is sadly, usually a malicious Google Ad imitating Yelp, but I digress.)
      - nindalf 9y ago
        This behaviour is encouraged by Chrome. The address bar prefers to suggest searches over the user's own history, ensuring that even a website they visit every other day will likely trigger a Google search. Firefox, on the other hand, has a strong bias towards history, allowing the user to go straight to their destination.
        kahkeng 9y ago
        Yes I've noticed that this has become a worse experience over time. I used to be able to find previously visited sites easily but now I can't because suggestions take precedence over even exact substring matches of urls.
      - edoceo 9y ago
        And in chrome the address bar is hijacked to be a Google search
        gumaflux 9y ago
        Simple setting to change the search engine.
        quadrangle 9y ago
        Should I interpret your comment as helpful ("btw, you can fix that in the settings!") or annoying disregard for the powerful difference between opt-in and opt-out ("there's nothing wrong with bad defaults as long as the option exists to change them!")?
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- notatoad 9y ago
  It's displaying ads above the search results. That's what google does. It's their whole business. It's not pushing their own review services over yelp, it's advertising alongside search results.
  - simion314 9y ago
    What about when they put a Chrome ad even if you are not searching for replacing your browser? So the main point with the EU antitrust is not about yelp but about Google putting it's own stuff on top , not about the ads.
    - Canning 9y ago
      This one should stand out to most people so it's no surprise to me that EU took note as well.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    That's likely the crux of the complaint. It's not alongside, it's on top of...and "over" Yelp. And the query specifically included the word Yelp.
  - quadrangle 9y ago
    No, when Google just lists local businesses and puts them on a map, that's NOT ads. Businesses get listed at no charge.
empath75 9y ago
They didn't google for 'reviews', they literally googled for 'yelp'
- wnoise 9y ago
  "Yelp" is generic for "customer reviews"! ... half serious?

simion314 9y ago

I think the point here is that Google is not returning the best results but pushing it's own other services on top of the list even if in this case other review services are better.

tyingq 9y ago
And even when the searcher is VERY specific that they want Yelp...it's right in the query.
- mattnewton 9y ago
  ..why didn't they go to yelp then?
  - ocdtrekkie 9y ago
    To a large percentage of Internet users, entering something into the Google search bar IS how they go places. (The address bar is a very strange mystery to plenty of people.) That's a big part of why Google is not permitted to act the way they are. They have become more or less the front door to the Internet, and hence, cannot unfairly prioritize their own products over others'. A big part of why tech users don't understand why Google is being subject to antitrust action is that a lot of people in the tech industry literally have no idea how everyone else uses their computers. Like not understanding that people tend to go to Yelp by Googling "yelp" and clicking the first link. (Which is sadly, usually a malicious Google Ad imitating Yelp, but I digress.)
    - nindalf 9y ago
      This behaviour is encouraged by Chrome. The address bar prefers to suggest searches over the user's own history, ensuring that even a website they visit every other day will likely trigger a Google search. Firefox, on the other hand, has a strong bias towards history, allowing the user to go straight to their destination.
      - kahkeng 9y ago
        Yes I've noticed that this has become a worse experience over time. I used to be able to find previously visited sites easily but now I can't because suggestions take precedence over even exact substring matches of urls.
    - edoceo 9y ago
      And in chrome the address bar is hijacked to be a Google search
      - gumaflux 9y ago
        Simple setting to change the search engine.
        quadrangle 9y ago
        Should I interpret your comment as helpful ("btw, you can fix that in the settings!") or annoying disregard for the powerful difference between opt-in and opt-out ("there's nothing wrong with bad defaults as long as the option exists to change them!")?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
notatoad 9y ago
It's displaying ads above the search results. That's what google does. It's their whole business. It's not pushing their own review services over yelp, it's advertising alongside search results.
- simion314 9y ago
  What about when they put a Chrome ad even if you are not searching for replacing your browser? So the main point with the EU antitrust is not about yelp but about Google putting it's own stuff on top , not about the ads.
  - Canning 9y ago
    This one should stand out to most people so it's no surprise to me that EU took note as well.
- tyingq 9y ago
  That's likely the crux of the complaint. It's not alongside, it's on top of...and "over" Yelp. And the query specifically included the word Yelp.
- quadrangle 9y ago
  No, when Google just lists local businesses and puts them on a map, that's NOT ads. Businesses get listed at no charge.

empath75 9y ago

They didn't google for 'reviews', they literally googled for 'yelp'

wnoise 9y ago
"Yelp" is generic for "customer reviews"! ... half serious?