Some businesses make the world better. Some businesses make the world worse. Let's not pretend that the two are the same.

Are you trying to imply that Google and/or Google Maps have made the world worse?

Are you trying to imply that adtech has made the world better? Are you trying to erase the difference between mapmaking and tracked advertising? My eyes are about to fall out the back of my head, I'm rolling them so hard.

Google's core business is tracking you and shoveling ads at you. Every time they pollute one of their side hobbies with their core business, it makes that side hobby worse and worse for the world. Search, mail, news, I can go on.

You dodged my question, but I'm happy to answer yours. I do think that advertising has made the world better. A majority of the content on the internet is viable because of it.

> I do think that advertising has made the world better. A majority of the content on the internet is viable because of it.

AKA the "harmful behavior is ok when it's profitable" theory. I don't agree.

I view it as being more like, the things that have advertising are pretty much only in existence because they can be funded by it. The fact that it exists in order to fund them is great because now we have a choice. We can visit those sites and endure the ads, or we can not visit those sites.

How would this work without advertising? Who would be paying for the websites that we enjoy?

Would you rather have every website prompt you with a paywall instead because that is the only other profitable solution I can think of.

You are either ignoring the context of this subthread or agreeing with it. I'll remind you: ashishmalik says "Everything is ok because money!"

I'd say the problem arises in market share. Google almost has a monopoly on digital map data. With any monopoly, there should be limitations on their ability to profit, as there can be lots of pricing abuse due to lack of competition.