Australian regulator finds Google dominates adtech, seeks powerup to fight back

Google utterly dominates Australian advertising, and only new rules can curb the harm its dominance does to local and global markets. So says Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in the final report from its Digital Advertising Services Inquiry, released on Tuesday. The thrust of the report can be divined in …

[ShadowSystems]

Break Google up.

Shatter it into separate, distinct, individual, independant entities that must compete in only their specific market against others willing to fill the power void. Google Search, Mail, Maps, et cetera, all sliced off & forced to run on their own. No cross-pollenation of employees from one department/unit to another, the employees from each unit are fired from the main Google megolith & rehired by the individual department/unit that applies. Tack up a giant sign in the office of the Federal Trade Commission to say "Never let Google recombine!" & then *enforce* that edict.

Google - you're Evil & need to be broken up like a cheap boy band never to rejoin forces.

[Headley_Grange]

Re: Break Google up.

All of the above.......and make them bring back Google Reader.

[W.S.Gosset]

Re: Break Google up.

And Google Desktop

[jobst]

Re: Break Google up.

I don't think it's only relevant for Google, it's valid for so many other companies, relevant for anything growing larger than beyond a certain size, including Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook etc.

Why is Intuit grabbing Maichimp?

Or Westfield (in Australia) trying to buy Priceline.

The list goes on ....

[schultzter]

Re: Break Google up.

I've tried alternatives to Google but the tight integration between services is what makes Google's so awesome (like Apple if they're your thing). If Google were split up others would rush in and we would be back in the same place again!

[veti]

Careful what you wish for

More competition means cheaper ads. Cheaper ads means more ads. Is that really what we want?

[Tim99]

Re: Careful what you wish for

I tend to avoid Google. If I really need it, DuckDuckGo with the Google !g bang works for me - Ads, what are they?

[EmilPer.]

dominates, but add relevance is going worse

google adds were more relevant 10 or 15 years ago, now it is like in the 1990s, they seem random and totally irrelevant

[bigtreeman]

search as a network layer

If search was built into the networking protocol stack Google would be undermined.

I avoid Google most of the time,

but I end up using it when it is the only or best way to achieve an outcome.

I have a gmail account only because many suppliers rely on Google.

My android phone is intrinsically tied to Google.

[sreynolds]

Well done ACCC

Well done on stating the bloody obvious. Just another watchdog without any bite.

[Denarius]

cynically

this suggests Oz gummint ain't getting enuf info from Goggle on Oz and any other citizens, agin

[sreynolds]

Re: cynically

I thought that in the three way AUKUS, the septics spy on the convicts the convicts spy on the poms, and the poms spy on the septics. That way nobody spies on their on citizens.