> Suppose an electricity utility builds the power grid, and many businesses build their operations around that grid. Then later, the utility uses its privileged position in the grid to directly replace the businesses that depended on it. Would that be morally acceptable?
This analogy is incorrect. If someone wants to use bing.com, they just have to type b-i-n-g.com. You chose an example with high barrier to entry. So if the utility behaves poorly, the consumer cant switch.
Google did none of that.
You dont like google? go to ddg, bing, .. You dont like google maps? use apple maps .. You dont like youtube? .. go to tiktok, fb reels, and if you're a creator, upload it elsewhere.
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You can say that Apple does a fantastic job of removing altnernatives. You dont like Apple Airpods? Good luck buying Sony to work the same way as Airpods with your iPhone.
People do not usually type a specific alternative into the address bar. They use the search widget on their phone or the default search box in their browser. How much does Google pay Apple every year to maintain that default position?
A technical barrier and a distribution barrier are not the same thing.
From the way you are arguing, I suspect you may be connected to Google in some way.
To be clear, I do think Google is a good company in many respects.
But let me make my point seriously.
TikTok may be the place for short dopamine-driven content, but lectures and reviews are still mostly on YouTube. And YouTube was strengthened by Google’s broader market power and distribution position.
I think we should look at this not only from the consumer side, but also from the supplier side.
You seem to be treating vendor lock-in too lightly.
You say users can “just” switch. But when there is a dominant router, “just switching” is much harder than it sounds.
Search is a two-sided market. Google controls the overwhelming majority of search traffic. From the supplier’s perspective, saying “just go to Bing or DuckDuckGo” is almost like telling them to shut down their business, because the audience is not there.
I am not denying your point of view. In fact, I partially agree with it. But you are not considering the supplier side at all.
> People do not usually type a specific alternative into the address bar.
I dont get thsi argument at all. When I walk into Safeway, Coke products are kept in the front of the store and Pepsi products are at the back of the store. Coke probably paid Safeway a bunch of money for this to happen, and you could argue people will pick up Coke more than Pepsi based on this. How can you argue Coke is "evil" / "bad" / "monopolistic" based on this? It is Safeway's choice who to get the money from. If anything, I'd argue Safeway is being a little naughty here.
> TikTok may be the place for short dopamine-driven content, but lectures and reviews are still mostly on YouTube. And YouTube was strengthened by Google’s broader market power and distribution position.
I disagree. YouTube's position was strengthed by creators who uploaded there by their own free will. YouTube didnt pay anyone to do that. Again, to use an analogy, it'll be like saying most software dont have a Linux variant and always seem to have Mac version. Indepedant, rational actors decide to favor Mac, and for that Apple is bad? What should Apple do here - tell creators that you cant publish on App Store unless you create a Linux / Windows version?
> Search is a two-sided market. Google controls the overwhelming majority of search traffic. From the supplier’s perspective, saying “just go to Bing or DuckDuckGo” is almost like telling them to shut down their business, because the audience is not there.
What do you mean? How is searching for 'new york times' on bing.com or ddg.com bad for nyt? bing, ddg, google are all search engines - and they all surface the same information / sites. People seem to prefer (whether by habit or by preference) to Google. But Google isnt saying "if you are on Google Search, you cant be on Bing or DDG) It isnt exclusive, you know?
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