Today , Google ’s going to be grill , chopped , and friedbefore Congress , which is dig into the search colossus over accusations of anticompetitive mischief . There are two possibilities here : Google ’s breaking the police force , or it ’s a victim of its own achiever .
The Case Against Google
In brusk , Google ’s rival suppose the hunting giant is wielding its massive net hegemony unfairly . If you ’re Yelp , you ’re angry that Google Places gets preferential handling when people search for restaurant reviews . If you ’re Yahoo ! , you ’re angry that Google Maps is the top result for “ maps . ” Ditto for email , locomotion , and shopping , which is why executives from Nextag , Expedia , and Yelp are all show against Google and its CEO , Eric Schmidt .
The testimonial that Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelmanplans to pitch Congress todaylays the general grievances out succinctly :
Google is no longer in the business enterprise of sending citizenry to the good author of information on the World Wide Web . It now go for to be a destination site itself for one erect market place after another , including news , shopping , traveling , and now , local business critique . It would be one thing if these efforts were conducted on a grade acting field , but the world is they are not . The experience in my industry is tell apart : Google strength review websites to allow for their content for free to gain Google ’s own competing product – not consumer . Google then devote its own product preferential discourse in Google search effect .
In reaction to our remonstrance , Google inform us that it would cease the practice only if we tally to be removed from Google ’s WWW search index , thereby preventing Yelp from seem anywhere in Google web hunting solvent . This , of class , was a false choice . Google ’s prevailing position in the market prevents services like Yelp from exercising any sort of meaningful pick in the subject : it is a choice between allowing Google to co - opt one ’s content and not competing at all .
In myopic : Google owns hunt , companies need Google , Google force companies to either ride at the Thomas Kyd ’ table or starve . Companies like Yelp think Google ’s shamed of anticompetitive behavior because they ’ve tempt the net muckle into their corral with only the guise of choice — in reality , we ’re wind a fenced - off plantation where Google ’s hooey is all that matters .
The Case For Google
Schmidt puts the company ’s stance well himself : “ Users can and will change . The toll of going elsewhere is zero , and user can and do apply other sources to find the entropy they want . ” Unlike Microsoft , which made an Everest of immediate payment because we had zero choice but to grease one’s palms a microcomputer with Windows establish on it , using Bing or Yahoo ! is easy and free . Everything Google offers is free . And if we do n’t like it , we can use a contender . Furthermore , the competition is pretty keen these Clarence Day ! Do n’t wish Android ? purchase Windows Phone . Do n’t like Google Maps ? Use Bing Maps . And so forth . Google is massively democratic because , for the most part , they ’re the best — Hotmail is still a farce , MapQuest is an overplus , and , if only for psychological reasons , Google ’s lookup is still consider the gold banner in “ what ’s out there on the internet . ” Taken this way , Google ’s being attacked because simply because they ’re good than everyone else .
And is it so unfair that they ’d favor their own product ? If they were gauzy about it , and still offered the option of clicking elsewhere , I ca n’t imagine it would be . When you go to a McDonalds , you do n’t whine at the absence of Whoppers . If Google billed itself as a service portal vein , loathe as I am to use that term , instead of just a search locomotive engine , a bunch of the colic might lose its basis . Go to Google , bear Google products . If that ’s the de facto state of affairs , value it as such construct the whole matter seem like less of a monopolistic horror .
What to Watch for Today
The Congressional hearing start at 2 PM EST , in Washington , DC . We ’ll get over it once it begins , but here ’s what ’s going to matter most :
What does Google say about its page rank ?
Google ’s going to be called out for artificially boosting its own avail , rather of just letting the sacred algorithm do the study . hear an official response on this , under governance pressure , will be interesting , and crucial to the discussion . If Google ’s gaming the system without state anyone , it ’s heavy to grant them much sympathy . Google , of track , deny these claim , saying “ We rank lookup outcome to deliver the good reply to users , and that is the only consideration – not political viewpoints , and not advertising dollar bill . ”
What does Google consider Google is ?
Is Google going to paint itself as rigorously impartial search engine , or let in that ’s become far more ?
How hard is the Congressional beatdown ?
The attitude chew over in DC might charm the rest of the Union government activity , including the FTC , which is doing its own probe of Google . If they come across as sniveling and secretive , they ’ll have blow a serious moment in the public eye . If they present sensible , pro - consumer arguments , they ’ll probably endear themselves with politicos .
At any charge per unit , we ’ll know much more ( and have much more to say ) in a couple of hours , when the optic - squinting and newspaper - shuffle on The Hill begins . I enquire if Eric Schmidt is staring in a mirror and slap himself right now . Today it ’s just a congressional hearing , sure , but if the anti - trust string pick up steam , Google could finish up present a full - blow DoJ probe . And those usually do n’t cease well .
Eric SchmidtGoogleYelp
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