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this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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I mean, he is wrong. Google isn't the default on Windows, but Chrome and Google search dominate Windows.
Google is the default for Android, so we can discuss that (but that isn't what Microsoft is complaining about.)
That just leaves macOS and more importantly iPhone. Google pays to be the default there. Is that unfair? Should Apple be able to bid for/charge a company to be the default?
Additionally in all these cases switching is easy.
I won't deny that being the default is an advantage but it isn't like users can't switch. You can remove Google search from your phone and it will work just fine. You can change the defaults on your Safari browser in a few clicks.
To be clear if this case uncovers shady/illegal behavior from Google, fuck 'em, but I'm not seeing it.
IMHO, no, he’s not wrong. Google is the default because they’re paying to be the default. That’s monopolistic.
It’s also not easy to switch from Google. In Safari, DuckDuckGo is set as my default search engine, but Siri will still use Google when I ask to search something. Same with Google Assistant. Sure, you can disable Google search on your phone, but that also removes other features that aren’t even related to search (like Assistant, which only runs if the Google app is enabled).
To me, that is absolutely anticompetitive behavior.
And good luck installing and using most mobile apps or doing mobile payments without being trapped into one of the duopolists ecosystem.
In the US if you want to watch the Olympics what company do you turn to? Well the only option is NBC who paid 7 billion for exclusive (US) rights, so you're turning to NBC. Other companies could and likely did bid, but NBC paid the most. Even worse there are no (legal) alternatives.
How about your local sports arena, school campus or restaurant? Do they serve Pepsi or Coke? It's not always cash but they might have bought (or discounted) that soda machine with the big PEPSI logo on the side, or the scoreboard that says COCA-COLA.
If I search for "shoes" on Bing the top result is Temu, are they monopolizing Bing Search?
Just because you pay doesn't mean it's a monopoly. Google pays Apple $20 billion per year to be the default. Microsoft can afford $20 billion, heck they can afford $40 billion, why aren't they paying?
In terms of switching, you said you switched Safari but that didn't update Siri. That sounds like an Apple bug to me. If Google is forcing/threatening Apple to make a worse product, that's a case of them being a monopoly.
In terms of Assistant, that is part of Google Search. On my Android phone I can choose a different default "Digital Assistant", in my case I can pick Firefox, but it looks like others exist in the wider ecosystem.
If you're saying Google Search should be separate from Google Assistant, I think that's a reasonable request, but not doing so doesn't make them monopolistic. Looking online, since I don't have these assistants/devices, Siri can be charged by changing Safari (which I know you mentioned was an issue for you earlier), but Alexa will only use Bing (unless you use some third party stuff) and I'm unclear about Cortana but Microsoft gave up on that so we can ignore it.
I do agree I would love to see more open and accessible APIs for all these different services. I should be able to have Apple iMessage on my Chromebook and Chromecast on my Apple TV. I think there is a lot that can be done to improve things, but what I'm not convinced of, yet, is that Google has been monopolistic. Obviously the case is ongoing, so I look forward to more information.
As for the Microsoft CEO, it's clear to me he wants to be the default without paying for it. I won't fault him for that, that's $20 billion in savings.
Google is monopolistic now, but they didn't BECOME the biggest search because of it, obviously. They became the biggest because they had the best search engine, then leveraged it to become what they are now.
That’s usually how monopolies come about.
While I mostly agree with what you're saying here, I would like to point out that removing Google Search from an Android device can prevent a user from accessing other applications or specific features within (obviously Google developed apps). I guess that one really comes down to what we think working "just fine" is.
I think you're right for the Play Store or Google Play Services but I can disable the "Google" app and things run just fine, and I can install more apps.
You're not wrong that ROMs that don't include the core services have issues, but Google Search is definitely not required.
(As an exception some phones won't allow you to disable certain Google services, but as a general rule you can.)