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FTC To Recommend Antitrust Case Against Google
NeutronCowboy writes with news that a majority of top staff members from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have become convinced that Google "illegally used its dominance of the search market to hurt its rivals." The FTC is now drafting a memo that recommends the U.S. government begin an antitrust case against Google.
"The agency’s central focus is whether Google manipulates search results to favor its own products, and makes it harder for competitors and their products to appear prominently on a results page. ... The memo is still being edited and changes could be made, but these are mostly fine-tuning and will not alter the broad conclusions reached after an inquiry that began more than a year ago, said these people, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified. ... The FTC staff memo does not mean that the government will sue Google for antitrust violations. Next, the vote of three of the five FTC commissioners would be required. And each step is a further prod for Google to make concessions to reach a settlement before going to court. Last month, Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC, said a final decision on whether to sue Google would be made before the end of this year.
Anything you want to do, he offers to do for you, apparently for free. On the face of it he appears to be a great lad but a bit on the nosey side, he has a good rumble through your stuff while you're gone and although he's careful putting everything back you still know he was there and still suspect him. He might have some contacts who occasionally try to sell you stuff but it seems harmless, until you realise he is indirectly trying to flog stuff to all your friends as well.
He offers to run your email server for free, in the hope that you will forget how to yourself and that the people writing MTA's now will just give up development allowing Uncle Goog to leap miles ahead of anything out there now and that you and everyone else become utterly dependent on him. He offers to drive your car so eventually he controls where you go, how you go there and at what speed, tells you its for your own good because he reckons he's a better driver.
Once you are completely dependent on him of course he can start to dig in, the stuff his friends try to sell you isn't so cheap anymore, he'll no longer drive you to where you used to get your stuff, his email service will be filled to the brim with invasive ads. In fact he'll turn out worse than the worst helicopter parent. Tell him to take a long walk off a short pier before it's too late.
In Soviet America, success is a curse. Obviously Google gaind an "unfair advantage" by "cheating"... fun fact: antitrust law has mostly been used by smaller companies with failed businesses/business models as a lever against the companies doing the actual innovating. Here's a good book on the subject.