The EU treats American companies like a personal piggybank

Madmick

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EU: Google illegally used Android to dominate search, must pay $5B fine
Ars Technica said:
The European Commission today fined Google $5.05 billion (€4.34 billion) for violating EU antitrust rules, saying that "Google has imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general Internet search."

The commission said that Google is violating antitrust law by requiring phone manufacturers to pre-install the Google search app and Chrome browser "as a condition for licensing Google's app store (the Play Store)."

Google also violated EU antitrust rules by "ma[king] payments to certain large manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-installed the Google Search app on their devices," the commission said.

Thirdly, Google allegedly ran afoul of EU rules by deterring manufacturers from using Android forks. Google "has prevented manufacturers wishing to pre-install Google apps from selling even a single smart mobile device running on alternative versions of Android that were not approved by Google," the commission said.
Google Search is the heart and soul of the company itself. In fact, this was its first product: a search engine. It's crazy for me to realize that some kids reading this probably don't know that Amazon started as an online bookseller, and Google started as a search engine. That was it.

So now integrating your flagship product into your most valuable product is...illegal? Negotiating contracts in favor of your product over a competitor is illegal? This is monopoly corruption?

Must be easy balancing checkbooks when you institutionalize theft.
 
Google has an agenda and it's clear with their search results.

And can be an example of how they can alter the perceptions of reality
 
Ya hard to not recognize the conflict of interest the EU has to 'find' against Google and level a series of massive budget relieving fines, warranted or not.

Fines like this, if received should not be kept by the gov't who was not the victim of any such abuse. Instead it should go to the supposed victims or some industry body in that sector.
 
Are you claiming they abused their laws, or that their laws are abusive? This doesn't sound unreasonable on the surface.
 
As much as I hate Google, I’d much prefer findings like these result in criminal charges against the person responsible for breaking business law rather than a loose fine against the company that

A) hardly affects the giant and does in not way deter such behavior and

B) create a non jury reviewed process to simply siphon money off a company the currently do not like

Also. The fine reason sounds completely bogus. Google didn’t make google the only search engine to use, just the default one that comes with their phone. A user can easily download and use a different one and delete google search/chrome

What’s next, fining Apple for having Safari browser pre installed on macs and IPhones? Fining Microsoft for having Internet Explorer on windows machines (actually I could get behind that last one)
 
EU: Google illegally used Android to dominate search, must pay $5B fine

Google Search is the heart and soul of the company itself. In fact, this was its first product: a search engine. It's crazy for me to realize that some kids reading this probably don't know that Amazon started as an online bookseller, and Google started as a search engine. That was it.

So now integrating your flagship product into your most valuable product is...illegal? Negotiating contracts in favor of your product over a competitor is illegal? This is monopoly corruption?

Must be easy balancing checkbooks when you institutionalize theft.

Can we fucking nuke Germany yet?
 
Are you claiming they abused their laws, or that their laws are abusive? This doesn't sound unreasonable on the surface.
I'm claiming that the EU is a glorified mafia cornerman shakedown artist.

Look at the first two "offences".

In #1, they're saying that Google broke antitrust laws because they required Google Search be installed with the Android operating system, but of course Google Search is a core appilcation of the Google Operating System. Know what that means? It means there is no version of Android without Google Search. Even the guys on XDA or other hackers who run "Vanilla Android" are installing a core application pkg (Gapps) that includes Google Search. In fact, the only phones running on Android without Google Search would be hacker-modifications of this package that one would no longer call "Android" because it has been modified-- like Cyanogenmod. Google warns against this even to the hacker community as it may affect overall OS stability. These apps were not designed to be removed.

Meanwhile, #2 is Google committing a crime because they forged contracts where they paid the mobile operators in Europe (like Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile here) a hefty sum in order to install their search exclusively on certain handsets. This is little different than how it used to be here in the USA where, for example, Apple would pay large sums to AT&T, effectively subsidizing them, in order that their physical locations would sell iPhones down at cheap entry prices of $99 or less (or offer better buybacks in store). They would also enjoy unique plan benefits or features (ex. Redzone NFL app for Verizon users).

What "small third party operators" get hurt? They want us to cry for Duck Duck Go, but what pull does Duck Duck Go have? No, it's Samsung with their garbage in-house search app (I'm sure they have one) that gets pushed out. It's whatever bloatware them, Sony, LG, or the rest of them would throw onto your phone in exchange for a cut from that search engine software company. Nobody is preventing these companies from making their own deals, either. Ironically, Google is punished because competitors exist on its platform. Apple didn't even used to allow third party applications for most features. I wonder if they're being sued for the same reason, now? Does them owning the hardware, too, insulate them from this type of thievery? Too big to shakedown?

Perhaps the most obnoxious thing about this is that Google's contracts would have amounted to protecting Europeans from bloatware. It's not like Apple has a search, or the Safari/Siri search (powered by Apple's cloud) on iPhones is available on Android. You wouldn't want a Blackberry search app on an Android. So really it's about those Android phones coming with Google search, and no bloatware crappy third party search apps that a user can download anyway.

It's such a joke.


*Edit* Furthermore, toward Mike's point, most of the third party app developers are Americans. The Chinese are beginning to rival us, but not he Europeans. The companies that would "suffer" by this aren't inherently European, so why are they collecting fines on the behalf of these aggrieved foreigners?

What a goddamn scam that outfit is.
 
Are you claiming they abused their laws, or that their laws are abusive? This doesn't sound unreasonable on the surface.

At least in the area of antitrust, the EU's laws and enforcement are so much better than the ones here that it's ridiculous.
 
Google is appealing the fine which is likely not going anywhere.

It’s a money grab.
 
I'm claiming that the EU is a glorified mafia cornerman shakedown artist.

Look at the first two "offences".

In #1, they're saying that Google broke antitrust laws because they required Google Search be installed with the Android operating system, but of course Google Search is a core appilcation of the Google Operating System. Know what that means? It means there is no version of Android without Google Search. Even the guys on XDA or other hackers who run "Vanilla Android" are installing a core application pkg (Gapps) that includes Google Search. In fact, the only phones running on Android without Google Search would be hacker-modifications of this package that one would no longer call "Android" because it has been modified-- like Cyanogenmod. Google warns against this even to the hacker community as it may affect overall OS stability. These apps were not designed to be removed.

Meanwhile, #2 is Google committing a crime because they forged contracts where they paid the mobile operators in Europe (like Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile here) a hefty sum in order to install their search exclusively on certain handsets. This is little different than how it used to be here in the USA where, for example, Apple would pay large sums to AT&T, effectively subsidizing them, in order that their physical locations would sell iPhones down at cheap entry prices of $99 or less (or offer better buybacks in store). They would also enjoy unique plan benefits or features (ex. Redzone NFL app for Verizon users).

What "small third party operators" get hurt? They want us to cry for Duck Duck Go, but what pull does Duck Duck Go have? No, it's Samsung with their garbage in-house search app (I'm sure they have one) that gets pushed out. It's whatever bloatware them, Sony, LG, or the rest of them would throw onto your phone in exchange for a cut from that search engine software company. Nobody is preventing these companies from making their own deals, either. Ironically, Google is punished because competitors exist on its platform. Apple didn't even used to allow third party applications for most features. I wonder if they're being sued for the same reason, now? Does them owning the hardware, too, insulate them from this type of thievery? Too big to shakedown?

Perhaps the most obnoxious thing about this is that Google's contracts would have amounted to protecting Europeans from bloatware. It's not like Apple has a search, or the Safari/Siri search (powered by Apple's cloud) on iPhones is available on Android. You wouldn't want a Blackberry search app on an Android. So really it's about those Android phones coming with Google search, and no bloatware crappy third party search apps that a user can download anyway.

It's such a joke.


*Edit* Furthermore, toward Mike's point, most of the third party app developers are Americans. The Chinese are beginning to rival us, but not he Europeans. The companies that would "suffer" by this aren't inherently European, so why are they collecting fines on the behalf of these aggrieved foreigners?

What a goddamn scam that outfit is.

The difference between Apple doing it and Google doing it is that Apple is doing it to their own hardware. Google is forcing other companies to use their apps. The Pixel would fall under the same category as Apple.
I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's how they treat it.
 
they shouldnt have broken the rules if they didnt want to pay the penalties.

thats the difference between the EU and your government.... they hold corporations accountable when they break the rules/law
 
Don’t see any relevance on pointing out it is an American company. They make money in the EU and are subject to its laws. That being said I would really need to dig deaper on this one. I have real mixed feelings on the effectiveness of this kind of stuff.
 
The difference between Apple doing it and Google doing it is that Apple is doing it to their own hardware. Google is forcing other companies to use their apps. The Pixel would fall under the same category as Apple.
I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's how they treat it.
Indeed. They aren't "forcing" companies to use their apps that haven't already built a handset for their operating system. By this logic any deal that Apple makes that guarantees benefits to a merchant in exchange for greater exclusivity within that merchant's inventory is a crime, and punishable with a fine. That would extend to the telecommunication providers themselves. Furthermore, in this case, the exclusivity isn't permanent. One can install other search providers, or set them as the default. It's up to the user. Hell, Apple users have workarounds in order to use Google as their default voice assistant instead of Siri because their software is so much better. Google wins on every platform where the user-choice shift is calculated where search engine selection is enabled. Despite what Microsoft would have you believe it's dominating because people choose to use it.

For this the EU fines them $5 billion dollars.
 
My latest WTF

Sitting at my parents, they are selling one of their homes, and have been talking about it a lot, then almost every ad on Instagram was for reality companies
 
EU: Google illegally used Android to dominate search, must pay $5B fine

Google Search is the heart and soul of the company itself. In fact, this was its first product: a search engine. It's crazy for me to realize that some kids reading this probably don't know that Amazon started as an online bookseller, and Google started as a search engine. That was it.

So now integrating your flagship product into your most valuable product is...illegal? Negotiating contracts in favor of your product over a competitor is illegal? This is monopoly corruption?

Must be easy balancing checkbooks when you institutionalize theft.

This is the problem with trade agreements.

Who are you to tell a European what laws should govern their economy?

A trade agreement is a removal of Sovereignty.
 
This is the problem with trade agreements.

Who are you to tell a European what laws should govern their economy?

A trade agreement is a removal of Sovereignty.
Which wouldn't be such a thorn here if it wasn't for the fact Google isn't a company headquartered in a country that is part of the EU.
 
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