3 ms·

I hope they try to fine Google and they pull out of India entirely.

by stefan_kendall3 13y ago

signa11 13y ago
ok i will bite: why ?
- imrehg 13y ago
  Reading the comments, I guess the common sentiment is "to teach them (India) a lesson"?
  - jfoster 13y ago
    Would that be a bad thing? I don't mean in a vindictive sense. Just so that the government might stop bullying companies.
    - q2 13y ago
      Context of this case is different to those of others appeared recently in the past (those are tax related). CCI is independent arm of Govt. Let it investigate. So "Govt bullying companies" line of reasoning won't apply.
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  There is no reason for them to hang around with such a big fine, since they make so little money India. This is like how google mostly pulled out of china, the costs and risks just were not worth the benefits.
  - pycassa 13y ago
    can you provide any sources to how they make so little money in India? as far as I know, India is one of the countries where google dominates in search. Which is not the case in China, google is not a major search engine in China. I just can't imagine they pulling out of India. They just recently had heart warming google advertisements in TV which is very rare for google to do.
    - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
      I think they made only 300 or so million revenue in the last 3 years, and as for profits much less, which completely out of proportion with the proposed fine (no sources for this, just word of mouth). India is still a developing market, advertisers don't pay as much as in the developed world. The ad is probably ran because of the government...they want to build some support with the people so they are treated better.
- stefan_kendall3 13y ago
  To send a clear message to other countries who try to bully companies for cash. It's a shakedown.
  - q2 13y ago
    Nonsense. Some one complained and CCI is investigating and Google will act as per the verdict. Where is bullying in this? What else Govt. is supposed to do? Do not investigate? Many companies get investigated in the America/west/China for various reasons. We all see that in news. All of that is bullying? Do not bring old cases into the current context. Also, Google know rules before operating in India. Do not they?
    - stefan_kendall3 13y ago
      Yes. The government is not supposed to threaten massive fines for companies wildly improving the quality of life for its citizens. It lessens the incentive to build great products and bring those products to an international market. "Other countries do it" is not an excuse that makes something ethical or right.
puffycolm 13y ago
When coke pulled out, hundreds of new flavors came into the market. When IBM did, thousands of software companies sprung up. So yes I hope Google pulls out too - the worlds information would get organized in hundreds more useful ways.
- eplumlee 13y ago
  It's tough to try to spin a $5b fine on a large company as a 'win' for consumers, but I see you'll give it a shot. Isn't this tacit admission that the different soda brands can only compete by legislative fiat? The only winners are the ersatz soda companies, and consumers pay significant costs, direct and indirect, in compliance with these kinds of market protection schemes.
  - svenkatesh 13y ago
    So what you're saying is that a monopoly is preferable?
devx 13y ago
I hope so, too. Then we'll probably see an Indian-based search engine, like Yandex in Russia or Baidu in China, and it would be for the better for Indians. But I doubt Google will quit. Google is trying to give people Internet in Africa, so they can one day be the main search engine there, too. Compared to that they are in a much better position in India, even if not everyone there has Internet now.

I hope they try to fine Google and they pull out of India entirely.

signa11 13y ago

ok i will bite: why ?

imrehg 13y ago
Reading the comments, I guess the common sentiment is "to teach them (India) a lesson"?
- jfoster 13y ago
  Would that be a bad thing? I don't mean in a vindictive sense. Just so that the government might stop bullying companies.
  - q2 13y ago
    Context of this case is different to those of others appeared recently in the past (those are tax related). CCI is independent arm of Govt. Let it investigate. So "Govt bullying companies" line of reasoning won't apply.
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
There is no reason for them to hang around with such a big fine, since they make so little money India. This is like how google mostly pulled out of china, the costs and risks just were not worth the benefits.
- pycassa 13y ago
  can you provide any sources to how they make so little money in India? as far as I know, India is one of the countries where google dominates in search. Which is not the case in China, google is not a major search engine in China. I just can't imagine they pulling out of India. They just recently had heart warming google advertisements in TV which is very rare for google to do.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    I think they made only 300 or so million revenue in the last 3 years, and as for profits much less, which completely out of proportion with the proposed fine (no sources for this, just word of mouth). India is still a developing market, advertisers don't pay as much as in the developed world. The ad is probably ran because of the government...they want to build some support with the people so they are treated better.
stefan_kendall3 13y ago
To send a clear message to other countries who try to bully companies for cash. It's a shakedown.
- q2 13y ago
  Nonsense. Some one complained and CCI is investigating and Google will act as per the verdict. Where is bullying in this? What else Govt. is supposed to do? Do not investigate? Many companies get investigated in the America/west/China for various reasons. We all see that in news. All of that is bullying? Do not bring old cases into the current context. Also, Google know rules before operating in India. Do not they?
  - stefan_kendall3 13y ago
    Yes. The government is not supposed to threaten massive fines for companies wildly improving the quality of life for its citizens. It lessens the incentive to build great products and bring those products to an international market. "Other countries do it" is not an excuse that makes something ethical or right.

puffycolm 13y ago

When coke pulled out, hundreds of new flavors came into the market. When IBM did, thousands of software companies sprung up. So yes I hope Google pulls out too - the worlds information would get organized in hundreds more useful ways.

eplumlee 13y ago
It's tough to try to spin a $5b fine on a large company as a 'win' for consumers, but I see you'll give it a shot. Isn't this tacit admission that the different soda brands can only compete by legislative fiat? The only winners are the ersatz soda companies, and consumers pay significant costs, direct and indirect, in compliance with these kinds of market protection schemes.
- svenkatesh 13y ago
  So what you're saying is that a monopoly is preferable?

devx 13y ago

I hope so, too. Then we'll probably see an Indian-based search engine, like Yandex in Russia or Baidu in China, and it would be for the better for Indians. But I doubt Google will quit. Google is trying to give people Internet in Africa, so they can one day be the main search engine there, too. Compared to that they are in a much better position in India, even if not everyone there has Internet now.