alt Hacker News> PriceRunner is considered to have suffered damage as a result of Google having illegally favoured its price comparison service for many years
Why would Google NOT favor it's own service at it's own product? How is that illegal?
Replies
Because this kind of behavior was rampant in the past - where one company owned everything and could leverage it's size and influence to crush competition across distinct market spaces. It prevented other companies from operating in the same space, which led to stagnation, outrageous human exploitation, inequality, and ultimately the great depression.
It is now illegal as laws have been introduced with the aim to prevent this from happening again. The effectiveness of these laws, with regards to how well they fit the current era, is a different matter.
The thing that is illegal is leveraging a monopoly position in one market to give yourself an advantage in another market.
So Google is allowed to favour their own price comparison in, say, Hangouts, but not in Search.
Why would Swedish courts NOT favor their own national economic interests? How is that illegal?
Have you been sleeping under a rock for 30+ years, don’t know what antitrust is, and still feel confident enough to shout about it in a comment?
The law isn’t just “what you happen to intuitively think is right”, especially in a jurisdiction where you clearly do not reside.
Why would Microsoft NOT favor its own products? How is that illegal?
It is illegal to use your monopoly in one area to unfairly distort the market in another. This is one of the core concepts of antitrust law.
"Why would Microsoft NOT favor it's own browser in it's own OS? How is that illegal?"
something something monopoly. Even US has laws about this, currently not enforced though.
When you're a permitted monopoly you have the behave differently, including being fair to competitors.
1.5B is preferable to being broken up (not that Sweden could enforce that)