Google Chairman To Testify At Antitrust Hearing 93
bonch writes "Following a threat of subpoena, Google chairman Eric Schmidt will be testifying at a Senate antitrust subcommittee in September. Google has denied acting anticompetitively and cites its success as the cause of the increased scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission and European Commission have both launched antitrust investigations into the company, and the Justice Department is also conducting a criminal probe into their acceptance of ads from rogue web pharmacies, an investigation Google has set aside $500 million to settle."
Re:why do people still use google, given tracking? (Score:2, Interesting)
For example, go to Google and type in "mortgage interest rates." Google gives itself the #1 ad, at the very top. Additionally, it allows itself three lines for the ad text beneath the headline (which no other Adwords advertiser can have), it has that special "compare rates" button (which no other Adwords user can have), and it allows itself to have its ad copy in columns, which are also against Adwords' rules.
The keyword "mortgage interest rates" is extremely valuable, and Google is leveraging its monopoly in search to push its other businesses and disadvantage its competitors. That's the kind of shit that the FTC gets interested in.
Re:why do people still use google, given tracking? (Score:5, Interesting)
Google is only as evil as WE allow them to be. Stop giving them business, and they won't be able to abuse their position. If you keep giving them business in spite of their near-monopoly, then don't complain when the obvious abuse happens.
Microsoft is only as evil as WE allow them to be. Stop giving them business, and they won't be able to abuse their position. If you keep giving them business in spite of their near-monopoly, then don't complain when the obvious abuse happens.
There is still an important difference, known as the "Microsoft tax". It's difficult to find a computer without Windows installed, mostly because of Microsoft's licensing policies to OEMs. Google has a monopoly because people (the end users) voluntarily choose their services. Microsoft has a monopoly because of agreements with other large companies, not because of the users' choice.