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All of Europe is about 1/3 of Google's sales. The US is close to 50%. The EU minus the UK is probably more like 25%. They could certainly rationally abandon th
by adventured 8y ago
All of Europe is about 1/3 of Google's sales. The US is close to 50%. The EU minus the UK is probably more like 25%.
They could certainly rationally abandon the EU market if the fines continue to outpace what the entire EU search market is worth in profit. If you're Google and you can stay somewhere close to break-even on the fines, it's worth staying in the market just to suppress potential competition.
The ideal solution however is the for the US to respond by targeting EU companies, for example Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank (soon to be nationalized as it's collapsing) as two they've already very clearly gone after.
- thefounder 8y agoI wouldn't mind having some competition even if it's at the expense of VW or D-bank, albeit not on merit.
- xanipher 8y agoDeutsche Bank and especially VW are already targeted by the US. Just compare the fines for VW in Europe and the US.
- pgeorgi 8y ago> Just compare the fines for VW in Europe and the US. The fines for VW were at the country level, and besides the usual protectionism going on (one of the German states holds a blocking minority in VW by law, go figure) Germany also has a different approach to fines than the US, with much less emphasis on punitive damages.
- xanipher 8y agoI'm aware, but "has a different approach to fines" is not really relevant, otherwise this just boils down to "The EU has a different approach to Anti-Trust-Law".
- cuban-frisbee 8y agoYou really think a company like google could see a 33% drop in revenue and not experience a free fall in the stockmarket? The mere notion of losing that much revenue indefinetly due to their own fault no less would not shake up the market significantly is laughable.