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Seems like a lose lose situation for Google to me. If the Aussies call their bluff, then 90% of the population will switch to Bing/ddg and will be fine. More

by abraae 6y ago

Seems like a lose lose situation for Google to me. If the Aussies call their bluff, then 90% of the population will switch to Bing/ddg and will be fine. More discerning Aussie searchers - like people googling for why their spring boot app won't work behind an nginx proxy - will just use a vpn to get to Google US - and they'll be fine too. Google's dam will be broken open and the emperor's clothes will be left a little raggedy. There's more at stake here for Google than Australia, and Aussies play hard and ruthless at the best of times (can confirm, am kiwi).

toshk 6y ago
What if they take it further and also pull other google products like gmail, chrome, maps? That would cause some serious trouble.
- ulucs 6y ago
  That would likely be an antitrust suit waiting to happen
  - toshk 6y ago
    It's just a hypothetical I don't think it will come to it, but wondering why that would that lead to antitrust case? My knowledge of law is non-existent. I thought antitrust suits are because of getting into a monopoly position. Are you arguing that such an action would leave them open to claims of monopoly? Forfeiting services might be seen as a form of abuse, but isn't it sort of opposite of an antitrust by forfeiting your monopoly / strong market position?
    - ulucs 6y ago
      You're leveraging your dominance in some sectors in order to gain advantage in another sector. That's what they got Microsoft for. Also can't imagine countries bowing down to these kinds of tactics anyway.
      - Isinlor 6y ago
        Deciding that it's no longer worthwhile to provide services to everyone in a country is not leveraging your dominance. It's giving up. They can't force Google to operate in Australia.
- ralfn 6y ago
  There are more countries in the world that believe the people should be in charge not venture capital. Europe would close ranks pretty much immediately. As would New Zealand. Not so sure about UK though, but that's not a surprise to anyone, is it?
- ethbr0 6y ago
  That's a terrible option for Google, because it's a clear statement that they see themselves as above national governments. The large tech companies have been doing everything in their PR power for the last 30 years to pretend we aren't in the opening decades of a cyberpunk future. Why break the kayfabe now, when they have the most to lose, and before their dominance is generationally cemented?
jgwil2 6y ago
Won't the same regulations then apply to whatever search engine fills the gap though?
- tarboreus 6y ago
  Not as yet. The law will apply to Facebook and Google, at least initially. A rational implementation would set a bar for market share or market capitalization before the laws kicked in.

by abraae 6y ago

toshk 6y ago

What if they take it further and also pull other google products like gmail, chrome, maps? That would cause some serious trouble.

ulucs 6y ago
That would likely be an antitrust suit waiting to happen
- toshk 6y ago
  It's just a hypothetical I don't think it will come to it, but wondering why that would that lead to antitrust case? My knowledge of law is non-existent. I thought antitrust suits are because of getting into a monopoly position. Are you arguing that such an action would leave them open to claims of monopoly? Forfeiting services might be seen as a form of abuse, but isn't it sort of opposite of an antitrust by forfeiting your monopoly / strong market position?
  - ulucs 6y ago
    You're leveraging your dominance in some sectors in order to gain advantage in another sector. That's what they got Microsoft for. Also can't imagine countries bowing down to these kinds of tactics anyway.
    - Isinlor 6y ago
      Deciding that it's no longer worthwhile to provide services to everyone in a country is not leveraging your dominance. It's giving up. They can't force Google to operate in Australia.
ralfn 6y ago
There are more countries in the world that believe the people should be in charge not venture capital. Europe would close ranks pretty much immediately. As would New Zealand. Not so sure about UK though, but that's not a surprise to anyone, is it?
ethbr0 6y ago
That's a terrible option for Google, because it's a clear statement that they see themselves as above national governments. The large tech companies have been doing everything in their PR power for the last 30 years to pretend we aren't in the opening decades of a cyberpunk future. Why break the kayfabe now, when they have the most to lose, and before their dominance is generationally cemented?

jgwil2 6y ago

Won't the same regulations then apply to whatever search engine fills the gap though?

tarboreus 6y ago
Not as yet. The law will apply to Facebook and Google, at least initially. A rational implementation would set a bar for market share or market capitalization before the laws kicked in.