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

(ec.europa.eu)
398 points ChrisArchitect | 16 comments | 05 Sep 25 16:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.002s | source | bottom
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Workaccount2 ◴[05 Sep 25 19:50 UTC] No.45142862[source]▶
Wouldn't it be something if the EU focused on fostering a tech scene rather than attacking it. This is like the 4th time they have gone to the Google bank demanding a $1B+ ransom.

And before we "Just don't break the laws" take note of the fact the the EU has a dead tech scene. I don't know how they expect competition to grow when they block all the sunlight in their tech fields.

If you don't want Google dominating your populations technology, try creating conditions to grow a replacement.

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fsflover ◴[05 Sep 25 20:40 UTC] No.45143332[source]▶
> take note of the fact the the EU has a dead tech scene

Because American megacorps are killing it with their monopolistic actions?

replies(1): >>45143448 #
lazide ◴[05 Sep 25 20:52 UTC] No.45143448[source]▶
Haha, no. The EU tech scene was dead (and has stayed dead) long before American megacorps even existed.

Why do you think Silicon Valley was in… Silicon Valley? It certainly isn’t because it monopolistically killed EU chip fabs!

They just didn’t exist, and went out of their way to be a huge hassle to exist, and the EU still doesn’t have decent chip fabrication abilities.

It’s the same for software.

replies(1): >>45143480 #
fsflover ◴[05 Sep 25 20:54 UTC] No.45143480{3}[source]▶
Maybe it was a real EU fault at that time, but now the monopolies definitely affect the market, as proven by the court.
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lazide ◴[05 Sep 25 20:58 UTC] No.45143525{4}[source]▶
Even if you nuked every one of them, the EU tech scene would still be dead. It’s a cultural problem. The EU would rather be comfortable than competitive.

And they are.

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1. fsflover ◴[05 Sep 25 22:39 UTC] No.45144521{5}[source]▶
How do you know that?
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2. lazide ◴[05 Sep 25 22:43 UTC] No.45144550[source]▶
I’ve lived there, among many other places. It’s pretty obvious in dozens of ways when you see it up close.

East Asia (currently) has a completely different mindset, with tradeoffs, which is why it has completely replaced Silicon Valley for actual Silicon. And frankly, is starting to do the same for software.

3. Workaccount2 ◴[06 Sep 25 02:47 UTC] No.45146200[source]▶
Americans work 500 hours a year more than their German counterparts. 300 more than the EU average.

Americans are working 14.5 months a year while Europeans are working 12!

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4. frm88 ◴[06 Sep 25 09:13 UTC] No.45147773[source]▶
These numbers would be admirable if they had something to show for it, instead: illiteracy below level 1 28% [0]; life expectancy 79.5 years (as opposed to - for example Italy 83.9 [1]; rank 13 when it comes to cost of living [2]... I could go on with health etc. So, what exactly do you get out of all that additional labour?

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_State... [1] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/life-expe... [2]https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php

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5. lazide ◴[06 Sep 25 10:21 UTC] No.45148081{3}[source]▶
I think you’re just reinforcing the point?
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6. fsflover ◴[06 Sep 25 11:07 UTC] No.45148276[source]▶
The current output is affected by the illegal monopolies, as I already explained.
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7. lazide ◴[06 Sep 25 11:33 UTC] No.45148366{3}[source]▶
I don’t think you read their comment - they were referring to Asia?

How are US monopolistic practices hurting Europe while helping Asia?

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8. fsflover ◴[06 Sep 25 20:46 UTC] No.45152710{4}[source]▶
They probably aren't hurting Asia as much?
9. fsflover ◴[06 Sep 25 20:59 UTC] No.45152793{4}[source]▶
No, working 500 hours a week is unsustainable and likely doesn't lead to better overall outcomes, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45149049#45151336
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10. lazide ◴[06 Sep 25 22:53 UTC] No.45153659{5}[source]▶
Are you for real/?

1) 500 hours a week isn’t just unsustainable, it’s impossible? There are only 168 hours in a week. I’m assuming you mean 50.

2) You’re just agreeing with the point again. Europe cares more about being comfortable. The US cares more about making money and being competitive (well, used to until recently anyway). People do all sorts of unsustainable things for money, all the time.

So what point do you think you’re making?

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11. fsflover ◴[07 Sep 25 08:14 UTC] No.45156372{6}[source]▶
> Europe cares more about being comfortable. The US cares more about making money and being competitive

I think that you can't be competitive long-term without being comfortable.

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12. lazide ◴[07 Sep 25 17:34 UTC] No.45160323{7}[source]▶
If you think Asia is comfortable, I have news for you. But I guess it depends on ‘long term’.

By Asian standards, US working conditions are heaven.

EU isn’t particularly competitive even in the short term, but they are certainly comfortable. I guess we come back in a couple hundred years and see?

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13. fsflover ◴[07 Sep 25 18:38 UTC] No.45160960{8}[source]▶
> I guess we come back in a couple hundred years and see?

No need to wait so long: The US is already failing.

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14. carlosjobim ◴[08 Sep 25 19:12 UTC] No.45172553{3}[source]▶
Life expectancy numbers are not reliable. Government welfare systems for the old are younger than the people who are in their 80s. When they were introduced, a lot of people lied about their age so that they could retire earlier and get more juicy benefit money.
15. lazide ◴[08 Sep 25 21:36 UTC] No.45174335{9}[source]▶
And Asia?
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16. ◴[09 Sep 25 15:39 UTC] No.45183526{10}[source]▶