Google Paying Fine For Providing Free Maps

[gneugen]

Just curious what you all think of this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57...maps-for-free/

Summary: Google must pay a mapping service company that charges for its service $660,000 plus a 15,000 euro fine for engaging in unfair practices. The unfair practices are listed as Google providing their mapping service for free in an effort to eliminate competition. The judge ruled that it is anti-competitive to offer the service for free. What do you all think?

[Herecius]

I think... it's bull. Mapquest did it before Google, I'm sure others did it even earlier, and it was still free then.

[Darsithis]

Moved to off-topic. Please post in the correct forum in the future

[noteworthynerd]

I think that this is ridiculous... Google is certainly not the only company that provides free mapping services, do Mapquest and Yahoo also have to pay these fines?

[NotValidAnymore]

The only reason they care about this now is because it's popular, and Google's rich.

[Xeones]

Google hasn't done anything anti-competitive. If they can obtain the maps for a price that allows them to offer the service for free someone else would be as well.

[Abysal]

Another example of why the worlds economies are so weak. When you have to worry about getting sued for just about anything, it demotivates doing stuff.

[gneugen]

Sorry Darsithis -- will do.

[Sunseeker]

Total bull. If a company can afford to offer a service for a low price, more power to them, if that price is free, great!

[xylophone]

Bottin Cartographes is just butthurt that their industry is becoming obsolete, that's how the market works, at least here in the U.S.

[Deleted]

Get outcompeted? No worries, just whine about "unfair business practices". Happens all the time to butthurt losers.

[Sinner563]

Sometimes I think judges should be allowed to use common sense on crimes. Yno, where people get off due to lack of evidence but he definately did it?

Then I see things like this and go....yeh nevermind.

[Machriren]

THE INTERNET IS SUPPOSED TO BE FREE GOD DAMNIT.

Are they going to start suing porn sites cause they provide it for free too?

A-derp

[Deleted]

I think Google would see that fine as 'helping out the mapping service company with a mandatory contribution' Compared to what Google is worth $660,000 + 15000 euros is nothing.

However the principle of them actually being forced to pay the fine in the 1st place is just total bull

[gneugen]

Part of me says "yes this makes zero sense at all." The same part continues "$660,000 will never stop google from bankrupting what I'm assuming is a vastly inferior map service."

Then a strange part of me also agrees on a level that it is highly anti-competitive for a company to throw vast amounts of resources at a project that they know they can leverage with their search giant status to actually make profitable. One could argue that the current mapping company is stuck in the mud, and that they never diversified their offerings to stay competitive in the mapping world. That's partially true, but what Google is doing is also monopolistic, and it is in fact a service that pairs with their other technologies to create advertising revenue. The side-effect is that you no longer need any other mapping service because they're offering theirs for "free" (everything costs more than it's worth with google though, whether you're a user or an advertiser. That's their magic. Either you're bombarded with adverts or they're collecting pay-click money from advertisers.).

I grew up believing in unfettered capitalism, thinking it would always lead to the most prosperous of results. I'm starting to think otherwise, the more I get to realize the nature of human greed.

[Laize]

un fucking believable

[RealistKilla]

Just curious what you all think of this:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57...maps-for-free/

Summary: Google must pay a mapping service company that charges for its service $660,000 plus a 15,000 euro fine for engaging in unfair practices. The unfair practices are listed as Google providing their mapping service for free in an effort to eliminate competition. The judge ruled that it is anti-competitive to offer the service for free. What do you all think?

What the fuck? If they want to provide it free then good on them. Fuck those other money grabbing bastards.

---------- Post added 2012-02-02 at 04:39 PM ----------

What the fuck? If they want to provide it free then good on them. Fuck those other money grabbing bastards.

Also. If Google provides it free, those fucking rat maggot companies should be forced to simply make their software cheaper then its current price to at least compete with Google a little, and of course.. provide a better service and/or more features then Google's does, so that people are still inclined to pay for their service.
( Like free Tv vs. Pay TV, ppl still buy Pay TV even thought there is Free TV because it provides more features and so on.)

Not have a QQ and ruin it for everyone because they are too lazy to improve their product. Fucking maggot bastards.

[Purlina]

My guess is that they can't really provide the maps for "free", and that another part of their business is covering the costs.

I mean there are no adds on goggle maps that I can see...

[Laize]

My guess is that they can't really provide the maps for "free", and that another part of their business is covering the costs.

I mean there are no adds on goggle maps that I can see...

They use Google maps for their GPS function on the Android platform.

No one quite knows how they will monetize Android yet though... since that's another thing they provide for free. Can't wait to see if Apple sues them for anticompetitive practices now that this can of worms is open.

[gneugen]

What the fuck? If they want to provide it free then good on them. Fuck those other money grabbing bastards.[COLOR="red"]

Well.... Google aren't some do-good company trying to provide the world with free shit either. They provide things for free to appeal to the masses, then you look around in ten years and have no other option but google. Make no mistake, they will make money with their mapping service, just like they monetized their free mail service through adverts, just like they monetized their free search engine through adverts, just like they monetize everything.. Get everyone looking at it, then sprinkle in some paid results and you have yourself a money machine.

The company that sued them (likely) doesn't participate in any of that.. they're likely just a company that makes maps and sells the product, so to speak. They have no venue to monetize the maps other than the product they produce. Yes, that's a bit silly on their part in a way, but it's also like spending all your time writing instructions on how to fix cars. Then along comes a company that sells auto parts. They write free guides, and use the space inside to sell OEM parts directly to consumers.