If Google's rivals are being unfairly treated by Google's search results, then they should make their own search engines that are fair. Yes, I understand Google has an advantage by having a head start, but that hasn't stopped for example Facebook from overthrowing MySpace for social networking. A rival company with a better idea or better results could challenge or even defeat Google without getting even more government involvement in the internet.
People voluntarily choose to use Google, at least on deskt
google doesn't just have a head start, they have a monopoly position, once you are a monopoly the rules of fairness change and it isn't enough to simply say someone can start their own business.
It's not a monopoly. Switching search engines is free. It's not like Microsoft where it's (almost) impossible for you to buy a computer without it, and replacing windows is getting more difficult each passing year. And on desktops, Google is a voluntary choice, and even on android, you can change the default search engine, or simply set your home page to yahoo or bing if you'd like.
It's not a monopoly. Switching search engines is free.
Netscape was free too, and it was easy to switch from IE for anyone who wanted to... And yet MS was rightly convicted.
Never overerestimate the inability of ordinary people from doing the most basic things. You may think it's trivial to switch search engines, but for most people it isn't. And antitrust is all about bringing about a good outcome for most people, not for people like you or me who can take care of ourselves.
Netscape was free too, and it was easy to switch from IE for anyone who wanted to...
Netscape wasn't free until Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer (IE) into Windows, which had (and still has) a (what should be illegal) monopoly on desktop operating systems. At that point, no one could charge for a browser. That was leveraging a monopoly in one area to gain a monopoly in another area, which is a felony (for which Microsoft was rightly convicted).
Switching from IE to anything else was almost impossible for most people, because Microsoft's browser dominance was so thorough that a huge number of web sites was created to fully work only with IE. Phoenix/Firefox broke Microsoft's stranglehold only through a rare convergence of events.
Again? (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
google doesn't just have a head start, they have a monopoly position, once you are a monopoly the rules of fairness change and it isn't enough to simply say someone can start their own business.
Re: Again? (Score:0)
Re: (Score:2)
Netscape was free too, and it was easy to switch from IE for anyone who wanted to... And yet MS was rightly convicted.
Never overerestimate the inability of ordinary people from doing the most basic things. You may think it's trivial to switch search engines, but for most people it isn't. And antitrust is all about bringing about a good outcome for most people, not for people like you or me who can take care of ourselves.
So no, switching search engi
Re: Again? (Score:3)
Netscape was free too, and it was easy to switch from IE for anyone who wanted to...
Netscape wasn't free until Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer (IE) into Windows, which had (and still has) a (what should be illegal) monopoly on desktop operating systems. At that point, no one could charge for a browser. That was leveraging a monopoly in one area to gain a monopoly in another area, which is a felony (for which Microsoft was rightly convicted).
Switching from IE to anything else was almost impossible for most people, because Microsoft's browser dominance was so thorough that a huge number of web sites was created to fully work only with IE. Phoenix/Firefox broke Microsoft's stranglehold only through a rare convergence of events.