this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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Privacy

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"WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies..."

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[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 131 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I sincerely hope they get broken up.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 56 points 6 months ago

Thoughts and prayers. (I don’t even know if I’m being sarcastic anymore)

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 35 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Betchu they'll just send a check of 1 B to the FTC and say "that should pay the fine + interest" then go on with their day. Happened in a similar fashion before.

[–] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 6 points 6 months ago

Happy cake day. Yes, I‘m afraid that could happen. We‘ll see.

[–] Solumbran@lemmy.world 76 points 6 months ago (2 children)

The punishment will be less big than the profit, they won't stop, as usual.

[–] Mango@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

Did you do a crime? Well as the authority round these parts, you know I get a cut.

[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 5 points 6 months ago

If the fine is not large enough to impact their business then breaking the law will be a normal business decision and fines a simple business expense. It's already like that.

[–] ocassionallyaduck@lemmy.world 64 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Shatter the company like glass.

They are insanely huge. They should be 10 different companies.

[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 17 points 6 months ago (2 children)

At least ten, and maintain no logs on their users. All previous logs must be purged and rendered irrecoverable.

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[–] Melody@lemmy.one 61 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Even if the punishment is largely symbolic and Google only pays a tiny (compared to it's massive size) fine; I'd still call that a significant win.

  • Google can be REQUIRED to give users A CHOICE of Search Engines.
  • Google can be FORBIDDEN from giving their OWN ENGINE an advantage in search results or advertising
  • Google can be FORCED to ALLOW THIRD PARTIES access to the SAME APIs used in Chrome and Chromium.
  • Google can be FORBIDDEN from BLOCKING THIRD PARTY FRONTENDS from using Google Search, Youtube and more.
[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Google can be REQUIRED to give users A CHOICE of Search Engines.

Don't they, err, already do this?

I mean a search engine is literally just a website and absolutely nothing prevents you from just going to duckduckgo.com or bing.com or wherever. Don't think Chrome prevents you from accessing other search engines in general, and last time I used it (admittedly a while back) it had a setting to change the search engine used by default if you just typed something into the address bar.

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[–] Eggyhead@kbin.run 56 points 6 months ago (6 children)

Websites and articles that have nothing to do with search or Google have to be designed specifically for Google’s search algorithm. I think that’s pretty crazy.

[–] Mojeek@lemmy.ml 27 points 6 months ago

~~Search Engine Optimization~~ Google Optimization

[–] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago

Not to mention googles push for an identification standard that would effectively ban any non chromium browser from all major websites.

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[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 34 points 6 months ago (1 children)
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[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 31 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Good, fuck Google. Break up that site.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Never going to happen. Remember when the same thing happened to Microsoft in the 90s?

[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 9 points 6 months ago

Unfortunately yes... I also remember when windows 98 crashed in a demonstration.

[–] small44@lemmy.world 29 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I hope windows will be next

[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 27 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Google gained their initial position fair and square. They had the better search engine, and despite the likes of Bing being actually pretty good they were never able to compete.

All Google had to do was to follow its initial mantra of "don't be evil". That's literally all it needed to do. Sadly, they were evil, and these are the seeds of that evil. I maintain today that Chrome, YouTube, Maps, and Search would still be dominant if Google were to welcome third-parties to compete and take space on their devices.

This, IMO, is a case that is damaging to their CEO above anything else. It shows that over the last few years many of the steps taken that have alienated fans and employees have actually damaged the company too. The exec actions have damaged them, and as such the execs should pay the price or course-correct.

[–] kuberoot@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 6 months ago (3 children)

But... Aren't all of those things still very much dominant?

[–] Wilzax@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They're saying that google services are dominant and anticompetitive, but not dominant BECAUSE they're anticompetitive.

Even if they were playing fair with competitors, they would still be #1 because they were that good. But because they weren't okay with giving competitors a fair chance, they resorted to anticompetitive practices that hurt consumers, and now this ruling is going to hurt google in return. They could have played nice and everything would have been better for everyone, but they didn't so here we are

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[–] ItsComplicated@sh.itjust.works 21 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The judge said it was a monopoly but there does not seem to be any consequences at this time if ever.

Mehta’s conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to reverse the damage done and restore a more competitive landscape.

The potential outcome could result in a wide-ranging order requiring Google to dismantle some of the pillars of its internet empire or prevent it from paying to ensure its search engine automatically answers queries on the iPhone and other devices. Or, the judge could conclude only modest changes are required to level the playing field.

[–] mosscap@slrpnk.net 10 points 6 months ago

Today was not about determining consequences / repercussions. It was only about deciding yes or no on the monopoly issue. The next step in the legal process is determining repercussions for Alphabet, and it seems like there are some pretty dramatic options on the table.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 19 points 6 months ago

It already hobbled itself by letting the results quality slide for 15+ years…

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Google search is a monopoly? It is losing market share. They really should go after Chrome and its clones

[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 29 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Just because it's losing market share doesn't mean it's not a monopoly, let alone an illegal one.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

True I suppose

I just don't like how Chrome is the "standard"

[–] falseprophet@fedia.io 8 points 6 months ago

I agree but that is a different problem

[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Then you should also not like how Google has a history of making their sites, which are market leaders in many cases including search, perform worse on browsers other than Chrome. That is considered anti-competitive behavior.

[–] SomeAmateur@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 months ago

It might not be much but it's still legal precedent that will hopefully help it reach critical mass. Like getting Al Capone on tax evasion

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 6 points 6 months ago

After reviewing [evidence from] Google, Microsoft and Apple... Mehta [gave a verdict]

Really, this is just a win for Facebhook?

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