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This argument falls apart as soon as you think about the power imbalance between you as a person and Google as the behemoth tech company that has tens of thousa

This argument falls apart as soon as you think about the power imbalance between you as a person and Google as the behemoth tech company that has tens of thousands of websites using it's captcha system. This is why we have consumer protection laws

leesalminen 6y ago
Google isn’t forcing these websites to use ReCaptcha. There are plenty of alternative captcha systems out there. Honestly, I don’t see how Google factors into this equation, and I’m fairly anti-Google.
- jerry80 6y ago
  Google isn't forcing anyone to use ReCaptcha, but in my state many government websites use it. So I actually am forced to use it. This is even more true with Covid, where many in-person services have transitioned to online-only. What's worse is that ReCaptcha isn't an honest CAPTCHA. Instead, ReCaptcha relies in large part on building a tracking profile. If you take privacy enhancing measures, such as clearing cookies and using a VPN, then you can't pass ReCaptcha. It will present you with a endless loop of "please try again" no matter your answer.
  - tmottabr 6y ago
    I clean my cookies very often and do use a VPN and do not have any problem using reCaptcha, never even saw this "please try again" error. maybe there is something in your particular setup that is breaking it.
Spivak 6y ago
It's not really Google's power imbalance that's the issue here because Google is providing a service to the website operator. The power imbalance is because the website that uses Google's captcha system doesn't have an alternative and forces you to transact with what is essentially a 3rd party subcontractor.
awillen 6y ago
No it doesn't. This doesn't harm consumers. They are very slightly inconvenienced, likely less-so than if websites were forced to use other methods to achieve the same thing.
kyriakos 6y ago
you can roll out your own captcha if you want. its just that website owners find it convenient to use recaptcha or hcaptcha instead. google hosts a service website authors find useful and at the same time benefits from it - its a win win really.

leesalminen 6y ago

Google isn’t forcing these websites to use ReCaptcha. There are plenty of alternative captcha systems out there. Honestly, I don’t see how Google factors into this equation, and I’m fairly anti-Google.

jerry80 6y ago
Google isn't forcing anyone to use ReCaptcha, but in my state many government websites use it. So I actually am forced to use it. This is even more true with Covid, where many in-person services have transitioned to online-only. What's worse is that ReCaptcha isn't an honest CAPTCHA. Instead, ReCaptcha relies in large part on building a tracking profile. If you take privacy enhancing measures, such as clearing cookies and using a VPN, then you can't pass ReCaptcha. It will present you with a endless loop of "please try again" no matter your answer.
- tmottabr 6y ago
  I clean my cookies very often and do use a VPN and do not have any problem using reCaptcha, never even saw this "please try again" error. maybe there is something in your particular setup that is breaking it.

Spivak 6y ago

It's not really Google's power imbalance that's the issue here because Google is providing a service to the website operator. The power imbalance is because the website that uses Google's captcha system doesn't have an alternative and forces you to transact with what is essentially a 3rd party subcontractor.

awillen 6y ago

No it doesn't. This doesn't harm consumers. They are very slightly inconvenienced, likely less-so than if websites were forced to use other methods to achieve the same thing.

kyriakos 6y ago

you can roll out your own captcha if you want. its just that website owners find it convenient to use recaptcha or hcaptcha instead. google hosts a service website authors find useful and at the same time benefits from it - its a win win really.