Trump defends Google after record EU fine

[Hydrogen]

President Trump defended Google — "one of our great companies" — after the European Union hammered the search giant with a $5 billion fine for abusing the dominance of its mobile operating system, Android.

Why it matters: Silicon Valley has not been a friend of Trump's. Google execs have spoken out about his administration's policies and its employee base is largely liberal. But for all the speculation that the Trump administration has contempt for Big Tech — especially Amazon — he appears to dislike the EU's actions aggressive actions even more.



https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1019932691339399168

Be smart... As Axios' Sara Fischer points out: "In defending Google, it makes it more clear that Trump’s aggressive attitude towards Amazon’s dominance is targeted, likely due to its ownership by Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post."

The big picture, per Axios' David McCabe: "Policy concerns about the bloc’s regulatory action toward U.S. tech companies go beyond Trump. For example, in 2015, Barack Obama said the EU’s aggressive position towards tech was an attempt to level the playing field for European companies who otherwise couldn’t compete with American rivals."

https://www.axios.com/trump-defends-google-european-union-fine-7885deda-df09-4eee-af1d-319bd206a47d.html

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Looks as if google may not pay the EU fine after all.

If google deserves to be fined for having a monopoly over search engines then do banks and credit card companies likewise deserve to be fined for having virtual monopolies over massive portions of electronic payment services?

In 2015, Barack Obama accused the EU's aggressive targeting of tech sector giants like google & microsoft as protectionism of the EU tech industry who otherwise "wouldn't be able to compete".

In a perfect world google would buy $5 billion worth of bitcoin and offer the EU a $5 billion dollar loan when the price of 1 bitcoin reaches $15,000 and the euro further inflates due to EU overprinting.

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[richardsNY]

It's quite funny how things escalate this easily, but maybe it's a bit too easy in my opinion. If you look through everything you see and what they want you to believe, it could be nothing more than a circus show. I can totally see Google end up paying a fraction of what Europe wants them to pay, and why shouldn't they settle for that? At the end of of the day, Europe isn't in the position to be this demanding -- there is far more incentive for Europe to keep up a 'healthy' relationship with the US than vice versa. My personal guess is that the fine will end up in the range of $500 million to $1 billion....

[audaciousbeing]

....

Looks as if google may not pay the EU fine after all.

If google deserves to be fined for having a monopoly over search engines then do banks and credit card companies likewise deserve to be fined for having virtual monopolies over massive portions of electronic payment services?

In 2015, Barack Obama accused the EU's aggressive targeting of tech sector giants like google & microsoft as protectionism of the EU tech industry who otherwise "wouldn't be able to compete".

In a perfect world google would buy $5 billion worth of bitcoin and offer the EU a $5 billion dollar loan when the price of 1 bitcoin reaches $15,000 and the euro further inflates due to EU overprinting.

Its purely expected that the President extends some support to Google because of the importance that it plays and beyond what we see, there might have been some backroom discussion before the tweet was released to the public. When I read the news about the Judgement, it was more of mixed feelings because for one, I don't have any issue against what Google is doing because its purely having an advantage over others and linking their products together to me is boosting their business. Also, I use Chrome and I still judge it as the best. The same way they cannot ask Apple to not make Safari their default browser, I think they should leave Google alone.

On the otherhand, I think there is some take away from here in that no matter how big a company is, there is always an overseeing body looking over its activities and that is a check to them to ensure they do their business in the right way and even if there is competition, it should be done according to the rules of the game.

[GangNamSK]

Yes. There is nothing strange about doing "his".
However, in many respects, there will be mixed opinions on this action. Is good or bad.
But I personally think Google's protection is not just to help this unit but to look beyond helping the community.
The important factor here is that Google is the essential means of Internet users across the globe.
That is the deepest value that I think is so.

[avikz]

....

Looks as if google may not pay the EU fine after all.

If google deserves to be fined for having a monopoly over search engines then do banks and credit card companies likewise deserve to be fined for having virtual monopolies over massive portions of electronic payment services?

In 2015, Barack Obama accused the EU's aggressive targeting of tech sector giants like google & microsoft as protectionism of the EU tech industry who otherwise "wouldn't be able to compete".

In a perfect world google would buy $5 billion worth of bitcoin and offer the EU a $5 billion dollar loan when the price of 1 bitcoin reaches $15,000 and the euro further inflates due to EU overprinting.

Its purely expected that the President extends some support to Google because of the importance that it plays and beyond what we see, there might have been some backroom discussion before the tweet was released to the public. When I read the news about the Judgement, it was more of mixed feelings because for one, I don't have any issue against what Google is doing because its purely having an advantage over others and linking their products together to me is boosting their business. Also, I use Chrome and I still judge it as the best. The same way they cannot ask Apple to not make Safari their default browser, I think they should leave Google alone. For at least once, I support Trump's statement here!

On the otherhand, I think there is some take away from here in that no matter how big a company is, there is always an overseeing body looking over its activities and that is a check to them to ensure they do their business in the right way and even if there is competition, it should be done according to the rules of the game.

As you have correctly mentioned that we can't ask Apple not to make safari browser as their default one. The fine is exorbitant and not acceptable for a business organization. After all, google is not doing charity to us! They will take some advantage for keeping their services free of cost to the general mass and the gap will be filled by the advertisers who will require more visibility. EU has becoming a money hungry continent it seems. Google should charge subscription fees for EU residents from now onward to use their services that are designated as free for the rest of the world.

[Scoobers]

Google should charge subscription fees for EU residents from now onward to use their services that are designated as free for the rest of the world.

This is not likely to happen, they want EU residents to use their services at they generate billions in advertising revenue for them. Totally agree that the fine is over kill but if they want to operate in the EU, they have to abide by EU rules. Perhaps they could use they money they have saved with their tax avoidance schemes to pay off the fine.

[LeGaulois]

This guy is a pure troll. If there are laws, it's for everyone and not depending on what is your country. The European antitrust law doesn't care if you're an American firm. It's time for Europe to stop to be submissive with The US. He doesn't like to have an American company fined for illegal practice but will have no problem to financially punish a foreign company in The US
If he doesn't see a problem then let's google doing their shady tactic on the US citizens