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European Commission fines Google €2.95B over abusive ad tech practices

(ec.europa.eu)
398 points ChrisArchitect | 20 comments | 05 Sep 25 16:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.758s | source | bottom
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jjani ◴[05 Sep 25 18:17 UTC] No.45141781[source]▶
Going to pre-empt the comments that always pop up in these topics saying "Google/Meta/Apple will just leave the EU at this rate": Google still has around $20 billion yearly reasons to remain active in the EU. Talking Europe yearly net profit here, post-fine. No, they're not going to say "screw this fine, you can take your $20 billion per year, we're leaving!". The second that happens, shareholders will have Sundar's access revoked within the hour.

There is a number of countries where Google has to deal with large levels of protectionist barriers (not the EU, these fines aren't that) and they still operate there. Korea is just one example. Because there's still a lot of money to be made. China isn't a counterexample: Google stopped operating search in China because at that point there was not a lot of money to be made for them in search there.

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PhantomHour ◴[05 Sep 25 19:18 UTC] No.45142501[source]▶
The entire idea of "Oh they'll leave" is ridiculous, an empty threat from billionaires who are afraid of regulation.

The EU has 450M (+80M for UK & similar non-eu countries that are likely to follow the EU on such regulations) population to the US' 350M.

The moment the likes of Google, or Meta, or Microsoft, or whomever else leave the EU, they immediately create a market gap. A market gap that will then in short order be filled with a European company that, because of the population sizes, has a notable comparative advantage to the US tech company.

+ As much as HN's readership loathes to admit it, regulations like this are "Good, Actually". Google's monopolist practices are bad for both advertisers and services showing ads. Any would-be competitor that arises from Google leaving the market would, by virtue of being forced by law to not be so shitty, be the better option. (And yes, this does also apply to pretty much all of the other big tech regulations as well.)

Like, c'mon. "Monopolies bad" is capitalism 101. Even the US' regulators thought Google was going too far.

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1. Workaccount2 ◴[05 Sep 25 19:57 UTC] No.45142925[source]▶
The EU has been chronically unable to fill the gaps in their economy. If you look at the list of europes biggest companies, it's the same companies as it was 30 years ago...automotive and oil and gas. There are no major tech companies in Europe, which is so insane it's comical. Let that sink in...a continent full of intelligent tech workers has never been able to get a major tech company off the ground.

Regulation may be good, but understand, actually, recognize, that it is also suffocating. People bragging that they have no weeds in their fields, when they have no fresh crops either....

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2. croes ◴[05 Sep 25 20:10 UTC] No.45143067[source]▶
Without those „Fachkräfte“ the healthcare system would crash.

And the biggest companies aren’t automotive, gas and oil.

https://companiesmarketcap.com/european-union/largest-compan...

Maybe therefore the downvotes

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3. FirmwareBurner ◴[05 Sep 25 20:11 UTC] No.45143071{3}[source]▶
>Without those „Fachkräfte“ the healthcare system would crash.

Really? How many of the illegal boat immigrants work in the German healthcare sector? Because last time I checked they were mostly EU workers who got their job before crossing the border. Actual doctors and nurses don't need to cross borders illegally to get a job. I wasn't talking about skilled, LEGAL immigrants like doctors and nurses, I was talking about the other „Fachkräfte“ that tend to make the news.

>And the biggest companies aren’t automotive, gas and oil.

Maybe he meant in the tech sector. Because I can't take the LVMH sweatshop seriously even if they're making a lot of money. And the other companies on the list, FANG are worth more than all of them combined. I think even Nvidia is worth more than all of them.

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4. Workaccount2 ◴[05 Sep 25 20:15 UTC] No.45143120{3}[source]▶
This is by revenue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_companies_in_E...

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5. PhantomHour ◴[05 Sep 25 20:39 UTC] No.45143331[source]▶
> There are no major tech companies in Europe, which is so insane it's comical. Let that sink in...a continent full of intelligent tech workers has never been able to get a major tech company off the ground.

This is plainly untrue if you're talking about tech beyond the mag-7 sized supergiants.

> Regulation may be good, but understand, actually, recognize, that it is also suffocating. People bragging that they have no weeds in their fields, when they have no fresh crops either....

And yet it is the tech giants in the US, oh so praised for their size, that are the "weeds" in many regards.

What good is Google when it's reliant on an advertising monopoly itself built entirely on monopolistic and fraudulent exploitation of the rest of the economy.

What good is Amazon when it's reliant on crushing all other retail and local manufacturing?

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6. ben0x539 ◴[05 Sep 25 20:59 UTC] No.45143538{4}[source]▶
You know that "Fachkräfte" doesn't mean immigrants, right?
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7. CamperBob2 ◴[05 Sep 25 21:03 UTC] No.45143577[source]▶
What good is Amazon when it's reliant on crushing all other retail and local manufacturing?

I give them money, and in return I get stuff that "all other retail" failed to provide.

That's good.

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8. saubeidl ◴[05 Sep 25 22:04 UTC] No.45144185[source]▶
Please don't spread racist conspiracy theories.
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9. Imustaskforhelp ◴[05 Sep 25 22:30 UTC] No.45144428{3}[source]▶
That's exactly the point of the author.

Amazon crushed all other retail in the first place and therefore, now all other retail can't provide some stuff and you buy them from amazon

That isn't good.

Man I am thinking of this as an ouroboros. Amazon got big because they crushed all other retail and they crush all other retail because they are big.

I think that the ouroboros that I am talking about should be known as the monoboros (get it? I am trying to have some fun by mixing monopoly and ouroboros, I hope you don't mind it)

Or just call this ouroboros a monpoly, man. it hurts me sometimes that you can't bring change in this world because of the way the world is right now and that bad things can happen in this world and its far far from perfect. I don't get how you guys or even anyone stays optimistic, I really wish to be a optimist logically but I can't come to that conclusion other than the fact that hey I run on emotions and bad emotions lead to bad things happening for me personally so I need to shut down bad emotions just so that they happen better for me. But that seems a little like running away from the truth. Should I feel okay running away from truth?

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10. croes ◴[05 Sep 25 23:04 UTC] No.45144731{4}[source]▶
> How many of the illegal boat immigrants work in the German healthcare sector

Nice try of moving goalposts. „Fachkräfte“ is about refugees and legal immigrants.

But undeclared work in the care sector is what makes it affordable for many private people.

> Maybe he meant in the tech sector. Because I can't take the LVMH sweatshop seriously even if they're making a lot of money.

Why do you start at number 3 and ignore SAP and ASML?

Another goalpost. Parents point wasn’t about being better but existence

Nvidia is higher overvalued thanks to the AI bubble.

But Nvidia highly depends on TSMC and they depends on ASML

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11. croes ◴[05 Sep 25 23:14 UTC] No.45144831{5}[source]▶
Fachkräfte is often one of reasons used to justify immigration in the EU and especially Germany.

„Fachkräfte“ in quotes is often used by right wing racists to sarcastically describe immigrants if one of them commits a crime

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12. croes ◴[05 Sep 25 23:19 UTC] No.45144875{4}[source]▶
If we use that as a measure than the US isn’t much different than the EU. Besides Amazon, Apple and Alphabet the usual old suspects
13. lazide ◴[06 Sep 25 00:06 UTC] No.45145174{4}[source]▶
Nah, Amazon got big WHILE all the other retailers were huge. Amazon was nothing, and the other retailers sucked so bad (consistently) that Amazon was able to eat their lunch and crush them.

Amazon didn’t win because they were huge. They got huge by winning.

Now, they can afford to be shitty (unfortunately), which is actually helping local retail near as I can tell.

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14. foobarian ◴[06 Sep 25 01:00 UTC] No.45145576{5}[source]▶
> Now, they can afford to be shitty

I dunno, I think it's easy to forget just how bad it used to be. I'll take "cheap junk" I can get off Amazon for a few bucks even today.

15. CamperBob2 ◴[06 Sep 25 01:13 UTC] No.45145639{4}[source]▶
(Shrug) Generally, the ones they crushed needed crushing. See also Wal-Mart.
16. FirmwareBurner ◴[06 Sep 25 11:33 UTC] No.45148369{5}[source]▶
>But undeclared work in the care sector is what makes it affordable for many private people.

The same argument used to justify slavery. Amazing.

And also, the illegal boat migrants don't work in the care sector but instead cost the state in welfare.

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17. FirmwareBurner ◴[06 Sep 25 11:36 UTC] No.45148380{6}[source]▶
> if one of them commits a crime

What about when many commit crimes? Starting with the act of immigrating illegally.

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18. saubeidl ◴[06 Sep 25 13:13 UTC] No.45149009{4}[source]▶
I'm not calling everyone racist. Just the ones espousing racist views.
19. croes ◴[06 Sep 25 22:40 UTC] No.45153569{6}[source]▶
Undeclared workers aren't slaves and I didn't say the boat migrants are undeclared workers. That connection is done in your head because of prejudices. Most undeclared workers in care are from Eastern Europe.
20. croes ◴[06 Sep 25 22:53 UTC] No.45153646{7}[source]▶
Once again, Fachkräfte was meant for migrants, right wing racists write "Fachkräfte" and suggest migrants are illegal and or criminals and of course muslims or arabic or african. Usually the same people count suspects as convicted and ignore other contributing factors to criminal behavior beside skin color, place of birth and religion. The also usually show sharp decline in interest as soon as a crime suspect turns out to be a local, see rampage driving in Mannheim or the AfD member who threatened others with a knife at a Holocaust commemoration in Strausberg.