Google loses ad tech monopoly trial, faces additional breakups
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Finding that the Doubleclick acquisition wasn't anti-competitive just shows how bad modern US anti-trust law is. Buying your largest competitor and achieving a very dominant market position is so obviously anti-competitive that to argue otherwise is laughable, yet that's apparently a legally defensible argument.
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I'm certain that there are situations where a court's discretion to pursue punitive measures against a party are beneficial for society.
But in large marquee cases featuring companies with huge impacts on society? Cases where we should be setting both legal and social precedents that serve to guide how we approach markets, ethics, and people as a whole?
In situations like these, why not stomp Google for adverse interference-- even if they've already largely lost?
Especially given the potential for partial- or complete-reversal on appeal. If they manage to claw back a partial win at a higher court stage, penalties imposed at lower stages might still have some sting to them, and that should count for something.
But in large marquee cases featuring companies with huge impacts on society? Cases where we should be setting both legal and social precedents that serve to guide how we approach markets, ethics, and people as a whole?
In situations like these, why not stomp Google for adverse interference-- even if they've already largely lost?
Especially given the potential for partial- or complete-reversal on appeal. If they manage to claw back a partial win at a higher court stage, penalties imposed at lower stages might still have some sting to them, and that should count for something.
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Sucks to suck Google! This is what you deserve after pivoting to being an abusive evil company!
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Break apple up, break meta up, break Microsoft up, break Amazon up. Lets get it all done.
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I'm sceptical this will ultimately result in a big breakup. Somehow I picture the scenario of Pichai phoning the orange baboon with the proposal of a "big banana" as being very feasible
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I want to give recognition to the author, Ms. Belanger, for her continued quality coverage of the bad actors in the tech space.
It can’t be fun or easy to consistently read about Twitter and Google’s litany of bad decisions and practices while reporting on these topics.
I know we all love Dr. Mole, but Ms. Belanger has been consistent in her coverage of the relevant legal issues involving the big players in the tech industry.
It can’t be fun or easy to consistently read about Twitter and Google’s litany of bad decisions and practices while reporting on these topics.
I know we all love Dr. Mole, but Ms. Belanger has been consistent in her coverage of the relevant legal issues involving the big players in the tech industry.
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Jakelshark
Ars Tribunus Militum
How many decades until they're allowed to just merge back together like the Ma Bell split
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Publishers don't have many options. They choose Google because their ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective compared to the other options that Google has actively interfered with.
Isn't that what this trial and findings are all about? Google is unfairly leveraging other parts of their business to make other ad tech tools not work as well with their ad networks, for no reason other than that it drives more people to their publishing system.
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The louder that Google complains about this ruling the more they are CONFESSING that their financial success has been dependent on what they are being told to stop doing.
Would they be crying so loudly if they were told to furnish softer toilet paper in the corporate wachrooms? The crying is for the billions they will NOT make if they are forced to comply with this ruling.
Would they be crying so loudly if they were told to furnish softer toilet paper in the corporate wachrooms? The crying is for the billions they will NOT make if they are forced to comply with this ruling.
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This case began under Biden. Did you really believe a major case like this could be completed start-to-finish in less than three months?
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It's got to be a lot more fun and easy than doing the CSAM stories, which she also covers
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Your ignorance is showing, this is a case brought under the Biden administration. Quite frankly I'm surprised the Dump DOJ didn't try to have the case dismissed
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"Your honor, I know you found me guilty of tax evasion, but it was obvious from my tax returns, so don't hold it against me that I destroyed all my copies of the evidence and attempted to remove the evidence from the servers of the IRS and FBI."
I don't think that would fly. So why does this?
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icebergFromLaputa
Ars Centurion
Or maybe it is his way to make Google's shares become low, so his MAGA fanclub could buy the shares while they are low
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Ideally adtech would cease to exist and Google would be forced to make their search engine good again... hey, I can dream.
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Is the only way to deal with this situation waiting until it happens and then facing only bad options? Why nobody ever steps in BEFORE we have a monopoly that’s too big to sell?
EDIT: where’s any incentive to NOT become a monopoly? That they’ll tell you to stop 10 years later, once you have your billions?!
EDIT: where’s any incentive to NOT become a monopoly? That they’ll tell you to stop 10 years later, once you have your billions?!
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Google is probably desperately organizing a million dollar party for The White House for no particular reason at all.
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Thanks for the reminder, my ignore list has been running hot lately and I missed one apparently
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A former next-door neighbour used Google to advertise his junk-hauling business. I blanched when he told me how much it cost - it was his second largest expense behind salary for the crew. But if he didn't pay, the phone would just stop ringing, immediately.
They experimented with some of the others, I know Bing was among them. They did zero business.
They experimented with some of the others, I know Bing was among them. They did zero business.
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I can see how Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google could be broken up, but I'm not seeing how it works with Apple.
Meta could pretty easily go back to Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Oculus
Microsoft could pretty easily split into Windows, Office, Azure, Surface/Xbox
Google could be split up as Google Search, Google Ads, YouTube, Android + Pixel, Play Store, and G Suite
Amazon as Marketplace, Basics products, AWS, and Logistics.
I think if I was a regulator I'd have a very hard time determining where to divide up Apple. For all intents and purposes, Macs and iPhone/iPad, Watch, and Vision Pro are all the same thing in different form factors. Breaking up Apple hardware from Apple software wouldn't work because then you'd just have 2 companies that only "sell" to each other. Splitting off services and App Store is the only thing I can kind of see
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I guess that's kind of my point. They have a minority share of the personal computer market, but about 60% of both smartphone and tablet market in the US. Monopolies aren't just decided by market share though, there also has to be intent to eliminate competition, which I think the App Store does. The App Store effectively has 100% market share of iOS app distribution; so if not forced to be spun off from Apple, I could see Apple being forced to allow other app stores EU style.
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Nice that the govt won, but this is gonna sit in appeals for ages. When and if it actually "finally" gets upheld, theyll get a slap on the wrist, same as Microsoft did in the late 90s with their antitrust case back then.
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Kraft, Pepsi, Nestle, Tyson, Boeing, Lockheed, Ford, Chrysler . . . . .
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Chrysler probably needs to be Stellantis (its owner), which is multiple brands (acquired).
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Yeh, a bit cheeky, I just tossed them in there to pad the list
. . . but if they're big enough to hold multiple brands then they're big enough to be split across those brands. 
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Imagine if you could break Google up in such a way that the adtech company and the search company were not the same. Then the search company would have to improve its search results in order to attract users and justify the cost of ads placed on their sites, instead of charging advertisers a premium since you're the only advertising game in town, and then force-feeding the ads to users.
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