World Power, Google is a Danger to Society
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Transcript of World Power, Google is a Danger to Society
http://www.faz.net/gsf7o01s
PUBLISHED BY WERNER D'INCA, BERTHOLD KOHLER, GUNTHER NONNENMACHER, FRANK SCHIRRMACHER, HOLGER Steltzner
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Home Feature Debates World power, Google is a danger to society
From the search engine world power
afraid of Google03.04.2014 · Why no one makes this monopolist resistance? Google can dowhat it wants: it offers search results that will share his own. Its dominantposition is a danger to society.
From ROBERT M. MAIER
© DPAGoogle has long been a world power.
03.04.2014, 10:40 clock
Based on its strong search engine Google has become the most influential group in
the world. Google already dominates in many countries of the world major
sectors of the economy, not only in the traditional ecommerce. And the dominance
continues to grow with each passing year.
The "operating system of our lives"
Most people associate Google is still the search engine. With a market share of more
than ninety percent of Google dominates the search market German. Similar market
shares, Google has also in other European countries. However, Google today is much
more than the search engine, namely, among others, also the owner of Android, the
most important operating system for smartphones and tablets. During the third
quarter of 2013, more than eighty percent of the world's newly delivered smartphones
running on Android rising, trend.
However, Android is playing an increasingly important role not only on smartphones
and tablets. So it will soon run into televisions, game consoles, cameras and
automobiles. You actually feel that Google is building a kind of "operating system of
our lives" as recently wrote the magazine "Capital" . This includes Google Youtube, the
largest video platform (and also the second largest search engine) in the world, the
browser "Chrome" that has taken over in just five years, the most powerful position in
the global browser segment, as well as the world's most widely used email service
"Gmail".
This is Google leader in search engines, mobile operating systems, browsers, online
video and email services. This leads to an incredible abundance of power, which is
underestimated by many consumers and politicians.
© DPA
A little green robot conquered the power
Social role of IT companies
I am not a critic of the standard digital development. Personally and professionally, I
use notebook, tablet and smartphone as well as Gmail, Facebook and Twitter. I make
my living on the Internet. I have grown up with digital technologies and look forward
to many benefits that new technologies (search engines and social networks) as well as
the collection and analysis of data (personalized advertising and use of regional
services) with you.
And I have respect for Google. I like Google's attitude to think the impossible and
want to reach. This revolutionized Google classical industries. But Google over the
wheel turns: I am disturbed by the economic and social role that large IT companies
now play in our lives. Out of respect is slowly fear. The skeptic Evgeny Morozov said
recently : "I'm not an art critic. I criticize the monopolization of power by technology
and our naive dealing with it "Which I agree with him..
Google violated its own principles
Google likes to portray itself as the incarnation of good dar. on Google's corporate
Web site can be found ten companies principles , including: "The user comes first,
everything else follows of itself" and "earn money without harming someone with it."
But in fact, Google's behavior are often in stark contrast to these principles.
Google builds on the search results pages are becoming more and more prominent
advertising for products a (Google AdWords, Google Shopping). The "organic" results,
so the results are the best results according to Google's own search algorithm and not
have to pay for the website owners get always given less space. They play an
increasingly smaller role in such an important, immediately visible area of the screen.
This is particularly true for smartphones and tablets, which have much smaller screens
than traditional PCs and notebooks, but of which comes an ever greater number of
searches. If the user really in the first place, if he can find the organic (and thus
according to Google best) results barely out of sheer advertising?
There are software applications from independent suppliers which will prevent the
shifting of advertising on the Internet, socalled adblocker. These are very popular
because they prevent commercials for many users. Through these programs,
advertisements from Google is blocked tended. But what makes Google? There lays
the ad blockers close to allow Google's advertising yet. So Google pays to the
manufacturer of the major adblocker Eyoe so that they no longer makes certain
advertisements. That is certainly not for the benefit of all users.
Manipulation of search results
Google "pushes" its own products, which are often significantly worse, at least from
the perspective of seekers than comparable products from competitors, to the very top
in the search results. If you are looking to date on Google.de for "Apartment
Barcelona," becomes the first organic result is not about a website through which you
can book several apartments in Barcelona, but displayed a Google+ profile. GooglePlus (G+) is the second largest social network, something like Google's answer to
Facebook. It should be noted that the G+ result is not marked as "advertisement".
This is very questionable; because indirectly paid Google is indeed almost even for this
result, even if no money is flowing.
In any case, it is at the G+ result certainly not one that is there because of the search
algorithm on top. But most users this is not clear: you think that this is the best result
for their search they sei.Wenn but now on this G+ result click, users will be
disappointed: They come to a G+ page, which is much weaker as the sites of
competitors. On the G+ page there is only one apartment, no photos, no description,
no price, no booking facility, no German or at least English opinions, no information
about the number of people.
On the websites of competitors, but are only under the G+ result, users can find
hundreds of apartments with descriptions, photos, prices, reviews in German and
English and partly different filter options. All this does not get you at G+.
© DAPD
Google's answer to Facebook: G+
More users, more money, more power
Why Google provides its users with a worse outcome? Google wants to make more
money; that is permitted. Google knows that the websites that offer holiday
apartments, make money. And this business want to make Google better themselves.
This is legitimate. But instead of building a better product and to take on the
competition, Google takes its own product, which offers little added value in this
context, and grabs it to the very top in the search results.
The result is that landlords of apartments now see that you can attract users on the
Standing highest G+ result. So landlords have an incentive to register their apartments
at G+, so that they are also so far shown above. Google can be bad product as long
stand up until it is automatically getting better, because landlords of apartments give a
step by step their structured data to Google to get more bookings in the hope of it. At
the same time the other sites over which you can selfcatering holiday rental rent,
unimportant for the landlord, as the always get fewer visitors.
Thus influenced by advertising dollars that flowed past at sites that have offered many
different apartments on their side, only to a lesser extent and perhaps soon to
Google. Once Google's services have become so strong that the landlord can not do
without the reservations about gained, Google could probably switch this service from
free to fee.
Discrimination of competing online stores
Just as Google has acted in the past in "Google Shopping", a kind shopping platform or
product comparison, where you will find the offers of numerous online stores. Google
Shopping is similar to that operated by us product compared www.ladenzeile.de the
model here very much. Several algorithm adjustments have been made, with the result
that competing product comparisons in the search results continues to slide down
Google. That's why fewer and fewer users the websites of competitors.
In addition, other product comparisons to be excluded from an important Google ad
format with top placement, although they would be best suited for this display format.
Both the pushing down in the search results as well as the exclusion of the display
format cause Google shopping is becoming stronger while its competitors are getting
weaker. While the online stores have issued earlier money for the different shopping
platforms and then fight in open competition good sites for the users had, the online
stores are now giving more and more money just at a shopping platform, namely
Google Shopping, and less in the other.
Extinct competition
The result is a step by step rising dependency on the online stores of Google. This can
cause Google the online stores in the medium can dictate the price they have to pay for
a listing on Google Shopping. These higher prices the shops then have to get back
among the users (consumers). In addition, the pressure on Google drops, to improve
its products further because of the competition dies out.
The question is whether Google's own services also submits to the Google search
algorithm for weighting or ranking of web sites and, if not, why not? If Google's
products would actually be so much better for the user, they would indeed according
to the search algorithm, even without the manual, "Increasing" rank well soon in the
top positions of search results.
But many Google services are just simply worse than the competition. You would
according to Google's own search algorithm probably are never far above or only after
many years. Therefore, Google must push them artificially upwards so that they get at
all users.
Google makes its own laws
Google's position has already become so strong as well as those practices that many
actors in ecommerce more afraid of the rules Google ("Google Policy Guidelines")
than before the law. These Guidelines relate mainly to online marketing with Google.
The important difference between legislation and Google's Guidelines: About laws and
their compliance Judging independent courts where you can defend yourself and the
reasons for their judgments and must disclose. Compliance with the Google Guidelines
Google, however, seems alone to decide what it looks like behind closed doors,
without the chance to give other website owners to defend themselves. What a
sentence to defend himself before Google!
We have received several times at our sites from one day to the other seventy percent
fewer visitors about the organic Google search results. And the organic Google search
results are very important for us. We never knew what we did wrong. There was no
communication from Google. But what do you do now as a company were to make as
planned, the new employees a? If you connect the new lease for a larger office from? If
you invest in a new server? Can you look at the investment in product development
afford? All this threatens not only mediumsized companies like us massively.
So far, we have indeed always managed to keep us afloat; but many of our competitors
have been hit due to the competitive situation so hard that they either operation have
already been set, or at least gone into insignificance. Since Google dominates more
than ninety percent of the search engine market, you can not just switch to other
search engines like Bing, because about one can hardly attract additional users the
classic problem of monopoly.
"We know when you are at home"
What does Google itself? The most impressive quote is from the book "The
interconnectedness of the world," the longtime CEO and current Chairman of Google,
Eric Schmidt: "We are convinced that portals such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and
Apple are far more powerful than most people realize. Their power based on the
ability to grow exponentially. With the exception of biological viruses, there is nothing
with such speed, efficiency and aggressiveness spreads like these technology platforms,
and this also lends its creators, owners and users with new power. "
In addition, Schmidt said in 2010 : "We know where you are. We know where you
were. We can more or less know what you're thinking. "And Larry Page, founder and
current CEO of Google, said in 2004 that the google search will eventually be
© DPA
Over the Eye Google's services have alreadyfound a place, but the Group strives, accordingto CEO Larry Page, also in the brains of its users
integrated into the brain of man. These statements are frightening. This is not just
about economic policy, but company policy.
This becomes even clearer when one analyzes the ways of thinking of Google's
managers. Criticized you that Google is spying up in the most personal areas, replied
Eric Schmidt in 2009 as the then Google CEO: "If there are things that you do not
want anyone to something learns about it, then you should not do something." With
the takeover of the thermostat and smoke alarm manufacturer's Nest in January 2014
Google has bought access to the devices installed in the rooms of consumers. The
founder of the nest once said: "We know when you are at home."
In the case of the monopolist
Google's excuse is always that it do something only with the permission of the users.
But users have in many areas no longer able to decide what data they reveal and what
happens to it. Even if I do, however, decide to use Gmail: When I send an email to
someone who uses Gmail, Google has at least read along the way. If someone my
phone numbers, my entering postal and email addresses in its Google contact list,
Google can know where I live and how to reach me. And if someone enters an
appointment with me in the Google calendar, it can know who, when and where I
meet, without me having to use the Google calendar. Thus, the fundamental right to
informational selfdetermination is undermined.
The monopoly of Google is further strengthened by Google in Germany and Europe
hardly pays taxes and has a lot more money than German and European competitors
available. Supposedly generated by Google 54 percent of its profits abroad, but it pays
only an estimated three percent tax. Normal are more likely to thirty in Germany for
business. This tax practice appears to be legal under current state, but from the
perspective of German and European businesses and citizens devastating.
The taxes that Google saves against its German and European competitions, it uses to
invest in more staff, more research and development and more acquisitions. This
weakens the European companies, states and ultimately citizens.
Politics and government agencies look to
Although all this is no secret policy and competition authorities look to the rather
passive. And that, although the EU Commission actually familiar with cases against
large IT corporations. For years there was a case against Microsoft. But seems in
comparison to Google itself, the then Microsoft as nonhazardous. When in 2013 it
became known that the EU has imposed an antitrust fine against Microsoft, wrote of
the "mirror" , "The antitrust fine against Microsoft comes too late: Some competitors
have gone bankrupt long ago. The case shows how powerless are the competition
authorities in relation to the dynamics of the IT market. "
At this powerlessness, the EU Commission seems, especially in the form of the current
competitive Commissioner Almunia to want to change anything. Because for many
Google competitor it could soon be too late.
Since 2010, a complaint by European companies and associations against Google at the
European Commission is running. Also our company has joined the complaint.
Almunia has subsequently initiated and determined that four business practices of
Google might have violated EU antitrust law, which prohibits the abuse of a dominant
position an antitrust examination to online search and search advertising to Google.
A "deal" between the EU and Google is in the air
But rather than crack down on Google to Almunia in February 2014 to most
observers as a complete surprise decided to respond to a proposal by Google, which
allegedly eliminates the concerns of the European Commission. From my perspective
and also from the point of view of many market observers is Google's offer but far
from sufficient. On the contrary, Google would rather perpetuate power and anti
competitive behavior yet.
One got the feeling that the "deal" was negotiated behind closed doors between
Almunia and Google Chairman Schmidt. This irritated then luckily some EU
commissioners, among them the German Commissioner Oettinger. Thus Almunias
announcement to seek agreement in accordance with Google, even led to controversy
in the Commission a rare process.
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Google's mobile bonanza
Who holds on Google? A cry for help from San Francisco
But the deal between Almunia and Schmidt, unfortunately, seems nevertheless not to
be off the table. And, although important demands of the complaint such as the
prohibition of arbitrary algorithm changes and the application of the same criteria for
Google services are neglected. The Commission should accept that it is not easy to
get from Google commitments in their favor.
Act before it is too late
That is why they should follow the traditional methods and Google simply prohibit the
interest of consumers to discriminate against competitors. The prohibition should
make it clear that Google's own services must be subject to the same criteria by which
the websites of competitors will be judged, and Google may no longer systematically
weaken its competitors with opaque algorithm changes. Based on this, the need to
examine whether the medium is not even a splitting Google in the various areas
(search, operating system, browser and applications such as email services) would be
the right solution.
Therefore, policy, competition authorities and consumer protection organizations
need to act now, otherwise it is already too late.
Robert M. Maier is founder and managing partner of Visual MetaGmbH, a mediumsized Internet company that operates shoppingportals with 150 employees from Berlin in sixteen countries. It wasfounded in December 2008 and adopted in December 2011 by the Axel Springer Group. Visual MetaGmbH is one of the complainants in the EU antitrust investigation against Google.
Source: FAZ
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