Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by Gatsky on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @04:30PM
(#18667919)
DuckDuckGo is hardly a competitor to Google. I struggle to think of some future scenario where Alphabet looks back and thinks "Damn, we never should have given DDG that domain name, it was all down hill from there!". No antitrust investigation is going to believe that this small action makes any difference to Google's total dominance of search.
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by jhall1468 on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @04:45PM
(#18668034)
There is nothing illegal about a monopoly. A monopoly that uses it's position to prevent competition is illegal. Giving DDG a very valuable domain name (given their name) absolutely does what you're saying it doesn't.
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by Gatsky on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @05:15PM
(#18668209)
How is not giving the domain name to DDG using their monopoly to suppress competitors? This is not equivalent to say, removing DDG from their search results.
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by cstrahan on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @06:21PM
(#18668589)
I don't think that's what they're saying. The point isn't that withholding the domain name is the end of the world, the point is that handing it over is a small token that Google can use to claim that they aren't anti-competitive. I don't know what my stance is on that interpretation, but that seems to be (to me) to be the intended interpretation.
Does that make sense?
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by PhasmaFelis on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @08:21PM
(#18669168)
That's not what they're saying. If/when the feds come after Google for (most likely unrelated) monopolistic suppression, Google can say "we don't suppress our competitors--look how we helped out DDG!"
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by mcbutterbunz on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @02:23PM
(#18666891)
I agree in the case of Microsoft/Apple. In Google/DDG we're talking about transferring a domain name from one company to another, not saving a direct competitor.
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by johnfn on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @02:26PM
(#18666919)
I accept that MS/Apple was a competitive move. I’m not sure I accept that duck.com is.
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by bitxbitxbitcoin on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @03:47PM
(#18667605)
What you described does defy all business logic... except in the presence of regulatory externalities (anti-trust legislation) that causes the business move to be a net positive.
I don't think there's any optimism or pessimism to it, just rational actions.
Re:Google transferred ownership of Duck.com to DuckDuckGo
by Zanni on Friday December 14, 2018 @04:59AM
(#18679719)
At the time, Microsoft made more on application software for every Mac sold than for every PC sold. Microsoft and Apple were competitors on operating systems, but not on applications, and Apple's Macs were a significant (though smaller) part of the market. The relationship between Apple and Microsoft was never as simple as just direct competitors.
A company single-handedly helping to save a direct competitor defies all business logic and obligations to shareholders of that company. The truth is this was a business move to benefit Microsoft, even though it had a benevolent factor to it.
Thinking otherwise is overly optimistic, similar to how you believe it being a classic example of HN pessimism.