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Google's counteroffer to the government is unbundling Android apps

21 points by pseudolus 2y ago

sitkack 2y ago
I linked to their filed proposal here, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42482510 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42482510
- Spivak 2y ago
  The Government's proposal https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/11/2024.11.20-Google-Plaintiffs-Initial-PFJ.pdf https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/11/2024.11.20-Google-Plain...
tw04 2y ago
> For three years, its proposal would block Google from signing deals that link licenses for Chrome, Search, and its Android App Store So basically they slow down for 3 years and then are right back at it? How ridiculous.
Spivak 2y ago
The government's proposed judgement is basically a HN wishlist for dismantling Google's anticompetitive practices. It's hard to not root for the DoJ here even if it's in excess of the minimal changes required to address the specific wrongs they were found to have.
- mindslight 2y ago
  Not to me, it is not my wishlist. The tying of hosted services to exclusive client software is by far the bigger problem - the services are the things with significant unavoidable lock-in like Melcalfe's law for social services, or persistent identifiers for email or content hosting. There could be healthy markets for competing software clients made for each service, but for this anti-competitive tying between hosted services and the client software. Splitting each service+client offering up into its own company won't do much to affect their gravity beyond diffusing it a little. A much better split would be to not worry about letting Google keep all the hosted services, but make it divest of all of the clients (eg Youtube web and mobile apps). And of course going forward insist that every client is equally welcome according to completely open APIs. Android and Chrom(ium) operating systems are a distinct third category that probably shouldn't be bundled with either, given that they are both client software themselves, and orthogonal markets to other client software.
Havoc 2y ago
Next time gov sends me a tax bill or speeding fine I’ll make them a counteroffer since that’s apparently how gov interactions work now
ChrisArchitect 2y ago
[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42477534 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42477534

21 points by pseudolus 2y ago

I linked to their filed proposal here, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42482510 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42482510

Spivak 2y ago
The Government's proposal https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/11/2024.11.20-Google-Plaintiffs-Initial-PFJ.pdf https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/11/2024.11.20-Google-Plain...

tw04 2y ago

> For three years, its proposal would block Google from signing deals that link licenses for Chrome, Search, and its Android App Store So basically they slow down for 3 years and then are right back at it? How ridiculous.

Spivak 2y ago

The government's proposed judgement is basically a HN wishlist for dismantling Google's anticompetitive practices. It's hard to not root for the DoJ here even if it's in excess of the minimal changes required to address the specific wrongs they were found to have.

mindslight 2y ago
Not to me, it is not my wishlist. The tying of hosted services to exclusive client software is by far the bigger problem - the services are the things with significant unavoidable lock-in like Melcalfe's law for social services, or persistent identifiers for email or content hosting. There could be healthy markets for competing software clients made for each service, but for this anti-competitive tying between hosted services and the client software. Splitting each service+client offering up into its own company won't do much to affect their gravity beyond diffusing it a little. A much better split would be to not worry about letting Google keep all the hosted services, but make it divest of all of the clients (eg Youtube web and mobile apps). And of course going forward insist that every client is equally welcome according to completely open APIs. Android and Chrom(ium) operating systems are a distinct third category that probably shouldn't be bundled with either, given that they are both client software themselves, and orthogonal markets to other client software.

Havoc 2y ago

Next time gov sends me a tax bill or speeding fine I’ll make them a counteroffer since that’s apparently how gov interactions work now

ChrisArchitect 2y ago

[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42477534 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42477534