4 ms·

People aren't going to like this, but taking a page from Apple, Microsoft, Sony (iPhone, Xbox, Playstation), the solution to constant antitrust charges stemming

People aren't going to like this, but taking a page from Apple, Microsoft, Sony (iPhone, Xbox, Playstation), the solution to constant antitrust charges stemming from competitors on your platform....is to kick them off the platform. You can't be anti-competitive if you have no competitors.

victorbjorklund 4mo ago
Pretty sure Google would loose its search business if Google search only contained websites owned by Google.
- sigmoid10 4mo ago
  Because of the introduction of AI overview, click-through rates are dropping like crazy. Up to 70% of Google searches now end without any clicks to third party websites. So most search users already stay completely within Google's ecosystem.
  - fsuts 4mo ago
    But does that apply to shopping? I have often had a look at Google shopping results but very rarely clicked one. I think when searching for an answer ai assist is often sufficient but not for where you are buying?
    - giancarlostoro 4mo ago
      > I have often had a look at Google shopping results but very rarely clicked one. Pretty sure that tab is all ads, so its all garbage, in some cases some of the results look like scams.
      - dmurray 4mo ago
        It worked great for me recently buying running shoes. I knew what shoes I wanted, there are plenty of no-name merchants selling them, competing on price (last year's model, so not being sold in big name stores). Click through each of them, find one with the right size, colour, delivery prices. Very painless. If some of the merchants are scams, I wouldn't know, my shoes arrived anyway. Instead of "all ads, so it's all garbage" this is exactly what I wish all advertising could be.
      - brainwad 4mo ago
        It's not all ads. Indeed it's mostly not.
  - Ferret7446 4mo ago
    If they didn't introduce AI overview, people would just switch to ChatGPT. You can't ban a new technology, someone else will use it.
  - victorbjorklund 4mo ago
    That doesn't matter. The reason people are using Google in the first place is because it has access to data from many sites, not their own only. If Google tomorrow removed all websites they don't own from the search index, nobody would use Google. It would be useless.
    - sigmoid10 4mo ago
      That was only true before AI overview. Now all that info they scraped from public websites and fed into their models will still be available without anyone ever leaving Google's services.
      - victorbjorklund 4mo ago
        Well that is obviously not true. They need to have the index in order to serve up AI. And it's not 100% of all of the searches that are done without any search results. Remember also that the fact that there is an AI response on a particular search does not mean that it's enough. People might still click on a link. There is a reason why Google has chosen not to remove fully their search product and replace it with only an AI bot.
thayne 4mo ago
That is even more obviously anti-competitive. Not that we've seen any effective enforcement against it...
- Teever 4mo ago
  Right? Like the through line for all of this stuff is limp and ineffective enforcement. Fines need to start doubling for every time one of these companies reoffend.
- Danox 4mo ago
  Sony, Nintendo never had any pretense. If you want to be on their system, you basically have to go in and have a personal job interview to be on their system and they make no bones about it that it’s their system, and you’re there for as long as they want you there. Originally Apple was going to be a closed system and originally was just gonna have web apps, but a whole bunch of developers beg them to open up a store and a few years later, a few of the big companies were crying because Apple was successful and wanted special treatment. In reality, how many different apps do you need? Do you need 3 million apps? One can probably get by with 50,000 apps. It would still basically be the same in terms of user experience. Most users wouldn’t even know the difference. The only people crying would be other businesses. who want to latch on. Note: Sony Nintendo over the years get very helpful people, so-called experts who say they must change the way they do things to conform with everyone else, but they never do. still in business, and still kicking Microsoft’s ass.
- WarmWash 4mo ago
  Epic games sued both Apple and Google for anti-competitive behavior on the respective platforms. Google was ruled a monopoly, Apple was not. Every took notes.
- throw1234567891 4mo ago
  No? Apple in the EU?

victorbjorklund 4mo ago

Pretty sure Google would loose its search business if Google search only contained websites owned by Google.

sigmoid10 4mo ago
Because of the introduction of AI overview, click-through rates are dropping like crazy. Up to 70% of Google searches now end without any clicks to third party websites. So most search users already stay completely within Google's ecosystem.
- fsuts 4mo ago
  But does that apply to shopping? I have often had a look at Google shopping results but very rarely clicked one. I think when searching for an answer ai assist is often sufficient but not for where you are buying?
  - giancarlostoro 4mo ago
    > I have often had a look at Google shopping results but very rarely clicked one. Pretty sure that tab is all ads, so its all garbage, in some cases some of the results look like scams.
    - dmurray 4mo ago
      It worked great for me recently buying running shoes. I knew what shoes I wanted, there are plenty of no-name merchants selling them, competing on price (last year's model, so not being sold in big name stores). Click through each of them, find one with the right size, colour, delivery prices. Very painless. If some of the merchants are scams, I wouldn't know, my shoes arrived anyway. Instead of "all ads, so it's all garbage" this is exactly what I wish all advertising could be.
    - brainwad 4mo ago
      It's not all ads. Indeed it's mostly not.
- Ferret7446 4mo ago
  If they didn't introduce AI overview, people would just switch to ChatGPT. You can't ban a new technology, someone else will use it.
- victorbjorklund 4mo ago
  That doesn't matter. The reason people are using Google in the first place is because it has access to data from many sites, not their own only. If Google tomorrow removed all websites they don't own from the search index, nobody would use Google. It would be useless.
  - sigmoid10 4mo ago
    That was only true before AI overview. Now all that info they scraped from public websites and fed into their models will still be available without anyone ever leaving Google's services.
    - victorbjorklund 4mo ago
      Well that is obviously not true. They need to have the index in order to serve up AI. And it's not 100% of all of the searches that are done without any search results. Remember also that the fact that there is an AI response on a particular search does not mean that it's enough. People might still click on a link. There is a reason why Google has chosen not to remove fully their search product and replace it with only an AI bot.

thayne 4mo ago

That is even more obviously anti-competitive. Not that we've seen any effective enforcement against it...

Teever 4mo ago
Right? Like the through line for all of this stuff is limp and ineffective enforcement. Fines need to start doubling for every time one of these companies reoffend.
Danox 4mo ago
Sony, Nintendo never had any pretense. If you want to be on their system, you basically have to go in and have a personal job interview to be on their system and they make no bones about it that it’s their system, and you’re there for as long as they want you there. Originally Apple was going to be a closed system and originally was just gonna have web apps, but a whole bunch of developers beg them to open up a store and a few years later, a few of the big companies were crying because Apple was successful and wanted special treatment. In reality, how many different apps do you need? Do you need 3 million apps? One can probably get by with 50,000 apps. It would still basically be the same in terms of user experience. Most users wouldn’t even know the difference. The only people crying would be other businesses. who want to latch on. Note: Sony Nintendo over the years get very helpful people, so-called experts who say they must change the way they do things to conform with everyone else, but they never do. still in business, and still kicking Microsoft’s ass.
WarmWash 4mo ago
Epic games sued both Apple and Google for anti-competitive behavior on the respective platforms. Google was ruled a monopoly, Apple was not. Every took notes.
throw1234567891 4mo ago
No? Apple in the EU?