If you arent keeping up on the news, it was announced in the last 24 hours that the European Union is going to fine Alphabet, the company that owns Google, 2.4 billion euros for violating what they consider to be anti-trust laws. Basically the reason for doing this is they believe Google violated their laws by essentially promoting their own, or advertiser’s webpages above those of the competition. There is no doubt that Google did this, but the real question is why this is even illegal to being with? I know some of you might disagree with my stance on this, but I believe wholeheartedly that this fine is not only absurd, but a complete overstep of power on the European Union’s part.
I criticize big companies a lot especially when it comes to those from an industry that has a large barrier to entry and gouge the customer for that reason, specifically internet providers, phone providers, ect. However I don’t consider Google to be one of those companies. At the heart of Google’s massive empire is their advertising business which basically is able to connect advertisers with webpages that offer advertising. In addition they allow you to advertise and move up your ranking on their searches. We may use Google for a plethora of different reasons, including for learning, shopping, maps, ect, but let’s be clear, we are choosing to do so because they offer a great and user friendly experience, NOT because they force us to.
When it boils down to it, no matter how many people use Google as an everyday utility, they are and have always been a business and have never misrepresented themselves to be more than that. We use them simply because they work. There are thousands of other alternatives to google, ones that list webpages strictly on the amount of view a site is getting and we avoid these sites because they don’t have the slick ease of use and great search algorithms google has. There is a saying with most sites that are free to use online, “If it is free to use, more often than not, you are the product” and this is no exception in Google’s case. We get to use their user friendly tools and website and in return we are guided most likely to websites they have some sort of advertiser relationship. The European Union says this is a breach of anti-trust laws , but honestly I think there is a much more plausible ulterior motive.
The European Union seeks to enrich businesses inside and operating within their territory and in my opinion they see Google as a mechanism that funnels money elsewhere. Alphabet is an American company and many of their closest relationships are with other website that reside primarily in America, simply because of Silicon Valley and the startup culture in the United States. Those business created in the EU don’t have as much support and investment as those in the United States, which makes it hard for them to compete on an advertiser level. However that being said, I would completely expect this to be the case.
If I run a small supermarket and I want to compete with Walmart’s massive advertising budget, you wouldn’t expect me to get very far. We get the exposure we pay for and this is exactly the case on Google. If you want a completely open and fair listing website search system, use another website, like I said before there are THOUSANDS. A talented programmer could create a Google type search site that lists sites in an Afternoon and almost no startup money. They can’t compete because they offer an inferior user experience. It is almost as if we are fining Google for being too successful.
Google being too successful is the heart of what I think the problem really is for the European Union is. They are shaking down Google, not because they think that the common user is being betrayed, but rather they fear it is essentially taking money directly out of their companies, and to a point, the EU themselves. This 2.4 billion Euro fine itself is an absurd cost as well, amounting to double the largest past anti-trust fine. It almost seems like the want to Google to pull out of the EU, like they did with China, but get the ability of saving face and saying they weren’t censoring the own services their citizens use. We already know the EU has overstepped their bounds with what websites people in their countries can access and I think this is no different. It’s unfortunate and I am interested to see what ultimately ends up happening, if Google pays or if they choose another option. What is your opinion?