Google shouldn’t worry while EU commissars fight over policing tech giants

Try getting through a day without using Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal or a music service. Even if you heroically avoid stepping on any of their properties, it’s likely that your activity will have been tracked and recorded. Few things affect your online life more than “platforms”. They’re almost impossible to avoid, and the …

[Dan 55]

Well I manage it quite well

"Try getting through a day without using Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal or a music service. Even if you heroically avoid stepping on any of their properties, it’s likely that your activity will have been tracked and recorded."

Although I assume by "a music service" that doesn't include iPlayer Radio though.

[Richard Jones 1]

Re: Well I manage it quite well

Wot's iPlayer Radio? Does it get the BBC or any of the commercial stations broadcast over air as free to listen to services. Why put yet another gated intermediary in the middle of something free? Does not compute, does not compute (voiced by a TV robot).

[Anonymous Coward]

What?!?!

Google, check, use DDG instead.

Facebook, check, don't have a facebook account.

Amazon, guilty as charged. =(

PayPal, check, don't use it.

Music service, check, use locally stored music instead of relying on streaming.

So yes, Amazon do know what I read and VISA/Mastercard have about 50/50 knowledge of what I spend, but apart from that, and third-party tracking (I do use blockers to minimize that), it's not that bad.

[artma]

" Try getting through a day without using Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal or a music service."

Amazon — never used

PayPal — never used

a music service — never used

Facebook — used it for a very brief period of time, never missed it since then.

Google — use some of its services with various degree of regularity.

[Daggerchild]

The Shepherd Moons of the Singularity

The only method I know of for taming a singularity is a dyson sphere. Instead of the suppliers interfacing directly to the supplier, they need to interface to an intermediary. Even if the intermediary is a dumb pipe, it puts it in a position to monitor for abuses and adjudicate complaints as it will have accurate data. If the interface is standardised it also allows switching to any competitor of the singularity at no cost.

With an accurate tap on the data between the singularity and its suppliers a regulator can actually make decisions, handle complaints and monitor the situation. Naturally, this also makes them another monopoly. Be careful what you wish for.

I don't expect regulators to be defining instrumented business data API's for a couple of decades yet tho, but Google has a knack for making things happen before anyone wants them or can handle them.

[Rusty 1]

Re: The Shepherd Moons of the Singularity

Just as long as it isn't a Dyson sphere, as the noise would be horrific! And it would be a complete bugger to clean to retain efficiency.

[asdf]

another crack in the European project

see title.

[jake]

"Try getting through a day without using Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal or a music service."

That would be every day.

::shrugs::