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EU Fines Google $1.02B for Favoring Its Own Services
- anonymous_user9 3mo agoFor reference, that's 0.25% of Alphabet's revenue last year.
- jstummbillig 3mo agoAnother reference: It's ~0.75% of Alphabets 2025 income.
- YetAnotherNick 3mo agoThat reference doesn't matter. The reference that matters is profit due to presence in Europe market. If it is lower than fines per year, it makes sense to pull out of the market.
- -lmao 3mo ago[flagged]
- throw1234567891 3mo agowathefuk r you talking bout
- YukiElectronics 3mo agoProbably referring to how quite a few e-ID and online banking sites require you to use Chrome or Safari, as the companies behind them don't test with eg. Firefox. The Danish "MitID", for example, doesn't quite work right with how a lot of apps using it for authentication (the default Firefox settings probably strip something from the intent links the MitID login page uses) and Danish citizen service sites require Chrome for some things such as booking an appointment, iirc.
- ricardobayes 3mo agoIt should be tested on Firefox, but its global usage share is hovering around 3.3% and dropping. At this time, even Opera is comparable at 1.7%.
- tkel 3mo agosounds like very different groups of people. a few danish developers vs 27 politicians from across europe (european commission)
- qq66 3mo agoThe EU has found a clever way to charge US tech companies for market access without triggering a WTO violation.
- phoronixrly 3mo agoWhat's the alternative -- let US companies continue with their anti-competitive practices?
- Iolaum 3mo agoI m not sure about that. It raises the cost of doing business, but US tech giants still get to dominate the EU tech landscape.
- blitzar 3mo agoIts a reverse uno after decades of fines by the US against European banks and car makers. They will just write it off against the tax they pay back in the US anyway (which is why the US doesnt like it).
- troupo 3mo agoThis is the exact same thing the US should he doing, but its in love with corporate overlords.
- jabwd 3mo agoIf the US had working anti trust this wouldn't really even be a thing.
- 21asdffdsa12 3mo agoThe market is a funnel, rewarding centralization, you can thrustbust the t-1000 all you want, but the mercury meets in the middle and guess who is back.
- raverbashing 3mo ago(Actually I think it was Gallium but your point stands ;) )
- plantain 3mo agoIt drives me insane when in Europe the link between Google Search and Google Maps is broken and I often have to copy paste an address between the two. Thanks EU, what if I like Google's integrations?
- plufz 3mo agoIm sure you are right, but I’m not sure what you mean. I can search for an address fine in search and I get an embedded map that I can click to open Google Maps. How does it work in the US?
- arka2147483647 3mo agoDoes not work for me. Presumably there is some popup you have to accept somewhere for it to work.
- disgruntledphd2 3mo agoIf you click on the address result (the button in the map), it will normally work. Mostly tested on Firefox on Mac in the EU.
- ktallett 3mo agoThis is unrelated to Google's apps being integrated and working together which should not be affected by that.
- globular-toast 3mo agoInstead of going insane, why not try to think about how to solve this problem? With the correct markup, your browser could recognise the address as a physical location and ask you how you would like to handle the address. You would choose Google Maps. We need to stop being so helpless. A proper user agent should be able to do what you want it to.
- ricardobayes 3mo agoIf you click the "address" link in the Google Maps sidebox in Google Search it will show you on Google Maps -> even in EU.
- ktallett 3mo agoThe issue is that app developers can not offer alternatives to this, not that Google's apps only favour their own services. This is the exact same issue Japan had with Apple. Both were fair rulings. Forcing developers to use services is just removing free competition.
- 83642736392 3mo ago[flagged]
- throwaw12 3mo agoExpect threats by the Trump administration towards EU. US: our beloved tech companies (also funded our POTUS elections) tried to navigate the complex regulation landscape in the EU to innovate and accidentally stepped into very complex rules. But EU is fining them for being good boys. Shame on you EU, for not supporting criminals as much as US does
- kalleboo 3mo agoHe already has: https://www.trumpstruth.org/statuses/40235 https://www.trumpstruth.org/statuses/40235
- trolleski 3mo agoDon't worry, EU will give it back in almost every gov running on the American BigTech, it's just a show. The Granny In Chief has to get the emails somehow. /s
- 83642736392 3mo ago[flagged]
- trolleski 3mo agoI own nothing and am happy, am happy! Do not, I repeat do not send a senile agent my way, I can't stand listening to the Cold War stories anymore...
- KellyCriterion 3mo agohttps://archive.ph/zCYhX https://archive.ph/zCYhX
- cromka 3mo agoThat's last week's fine, isn't it? If so, it's a dupe.
- elric 3mo agoJFC these comments. It should be clear to everyone that Google is too big and is engaging in anti-competitive behaviour. The EU giving them a token fine every once in a while is just part of the cost of doing business for Google. Google could just choose to not favour their own services and to give users a choice. But they don't. Hence the fine.
- ChrisArchitect 3mo agoYou've submitted this 8 times OP; Please just read the site we beg of you [dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49019220 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49019220
- xnx 3mo agoBeing upset that Google search shows Google Maps is like being upset that you can't get a Burger King Whopper at McDonald's.
- scoofy 3mo agoEhh… I honestly believe that you should either be a market, and resale other products, or you should be a boutique, and sell your own. Mixing in branded items in a market with special treatment is very obviously anticompetitive. We see amazon doing that to high margin items egregiously. We see Costco doing it less egregiously. We should fight against anticompetitive practices pretty seriously.
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 3mo ago00110001001000000110111101100110001000000011001100100000011001100111001001101111011011100111010000100000011100110110100101101101 011101010110110001110100011000010110111001100101011011110111010101110011011011000111100100001010
- amai 3mo agoThe EU should demand that Google must be split up. Maps, Youtube, Search, Ads, Android, GCP should all be separate companies. Everything else is just childs play.
- fittingopposite 3mo agoCurious, where do the 1B go? What is this money used for and who benefits from this fine?