Netizen

Friday, May 23, 2014

Google Is Being Harassed By Europe

Flag of Wallonia فارسی: پرچم والونیا Nederlands: Vlag van Wallonië (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Europe might not be China, but it is no America either. European politicians are way out of line in some of their assertions. At some fundamental level they seem not to comprehend the Internet. The US government should be defending Google.

Europe should learn from China and try and maybe come up with an Alibaba instead of being jealous of the Google success.

The world could use a better search engine, but that might require innovation, not political rhetoric. And this political rhetoric poisons the space for entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe. These political clowns, who are they pandering to?

Google's Settlement with European Union Faces Increased Pressure

France has given the company a bill for back taxes that could reach over EUR1 billion, including fines...... The French government said it would push for a new European law later this year to classify Google and other Web giants like public utilities, forcing them to guarantee access to all of its services like phone operators. In Germany, Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel advanced the idea of breaking apart Google in a German newspaper this week, though officials acknowledge such a move would require new laws ...... "We don't want to become a digital colony of global Internet giants," said French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said at an event to oppose the antitrust deal last week. "It is necessary, indeed urgent, to put in place a framework that guarantees a level playing field" for European companies. ...... Tech executives respond that the political rhetoric in Europe toward American tech companies amounts to a new kind of digital xenophobia, that could chase away foreign investment. Regulating search engines like public utilities could make them "impossible" to operate, one tech executive said. ....... Martin Schulz, a German candidate who is in the running to become the next European Commission President, has put the case at the heart of his election campaign. During a televised election debate with other candidates, Mr. Schulz said Google was "a monopoly in Europe entirely and nobody even discusses it. […] That's why the instrument of competition in that case is a very important one." ...... "We must do everything so that the market power of Google doesn't become ever stronger."