LordVile95
Posts: 631 +362
Yes. It’s called regulation and consumer protection. I know human rights, consumer protection and anti monopoly legislation might not be a thing in the US but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world has to be as bad.
The EU just fined Google $1 billion for favoring its own services in search and Play Store
- Thread starter Alfonso Maruccia
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I notice you write a lot of wrong sentences / thinking, but I'll try to simplify for you, it's common that in some parts of the world, people are used to technology to think for them... so in the EU:
- monopoly is to avoid (EU or not EU companies)
- if a monopoly is present (Google, Microsoft, Apple but just because there aren't that many EU companies running), a EU regulation mechanism takes care those companies (EU or non EU) allow smaller companies somehow to compete
- example (better for you to understand): Microsoft can't block other browsers or non Microsoft apps. Barely legal, that Microsoft tries each time that you change to their stuff. Apple on the other hand, as they don't have a monopoly, is somewhat tolerated and does stuff that the EU still forgives. Nevertheless, they need to open their OS to other stores.
If we're talking about a smaller EU or non EU company, they DO NOT need to be neutral.
Yes, in the EU we try that in our countries it doesn't become a jungle as in the US: for many years the US pressures the EU to legalize weapons, extreme capitalism, etc.. Heck, our social and healthcare systems were never do BAD as now, the EU because of the US tries to send everyone to the private system, generate money no matter what etc.
Just look at Germany, Sweden and France: three now decadent countries with huge social issues and their social security and healthcare are going down as never before. Security issues etc.. That NEVER happened in the last decades because we were still being protected from the US extreme capitalism. Now that (extreme right wing) and the far left wing promoting extreme freedom (= all can come to Europe, do whatever they want, use the social systems and not working, just getting a ride from our taxes) sunk the EU.
Sweden was one of safest countries ever, now is one of the worst in Europe. Congratulations "freedom".
Endymio
Posts: 5,605 +5,224
You've just admitted my central point. The EU isn't enforcing laws, it's penalizing success -- and there are very few EU companies that succeed like American firms do. This is why countless European firms are engaging in the exact same acts as Google, and yet are not fined nor investigated.
As you admit, Apple isn't a monopoly -- yet the EU fined Apple $1.8B for promoting its own music streaming over its competitors (allowing Europe's Spotify, though, to do the same), and then another $700B for not "guiding users to other app stores", despite the fact that European firms are freely allowed to do exactly the same.
Sweden didn't see a rise in violent crime because of capitalism or "freedom", but due to open borders:
Euronews: Following waves of high migration starting in the 2000s and 2015, Sweden experienced a surge in urban gang violence, shootings, and explosions, predominantly concentrated within immigrant-heavy suburban areas...
From the NIH "Research shows a clear link between Sweden's rise in organized gang crime and challenges with immigrant integration"
U of Chicago: "[Swedish] Immigrants generally have higher crime rates than do indigenous Swedes, particularly for violence and theft ... Both first- and second-generation immigrants have higher crime rates than indigenous Swedes...
Endymio
Posts: 5,605 +5,224
Yet those "protected consumers" in Europe pay higher prices for most products and services than our "unprotected" US consumers, and those regulations have successfully stilted the EU economy to the point it's now growing at only one SIXTH the rate of the US:
"....From 2008 to 2023, U.S. nominal GDP surged by roughly 87% (growing from $14.77 trillion to $27.72 trillion), while the EU's nominal GDP grew by only about 13.5% (from $16.37 trillion to $18.59 trillion)...."
LordVile95
Posts: 631 +362
Yet living standards in Europe are significantly higher. It’s almost like the “wealth” of the US is based on the stock market which only directly affects the 1% richest in the country and actively degrades that of literally everyone else. Plus all of the GDP “growth” over the last few years is just AI debt being spectated on.
There’s a reason why the US typically places bottom of the G7 in QoL rankings. How’s that stock market paying for your healthcare debt, no time off and poor life expectancy.
Endymio
Posts: 5,605 +5,224
LOL, stop. Just stop with these absurdities. Living standards in the US are far higher, which is why there is a waiting list 7+ years long of European visa applicants attempting to emigrate to the US.
The "studies" purporting higher living standards in Europe don't use hard metrics, but are heavily weighted with absurd factors like "economic equality" (I.e. the notion that MY standard of living is higher if there are fewer rich people around me) or access to socialized medicine -- even when the level of care from that "free" medicine is abysmally worse than what the average American can and does receive here in the US.
LordVile95
Posts: 631 +362
Any source for this at all?
You are aware that healthcare in Europe is better than what Americans get right? Just because a $250,000 a dose medicine exists in the US doesn’t mean that 99% of people can actually get it if their insurance actually covers it after they have already paid thousands out of pocket and it’s taken a week to approve a basic X ray appointment.
Also drugs are drugs, vancomycin isn’t magically better if it’s administered in the US.
Endymio
Posts: 5,605 +5,224
"The average home in the United States is more than twice as large as the average home in Europe, measuring about 2,200 square feet compared to a European average of roughly 1,000 square feet."
That 2200 sq. ft. figure averages in the older homes in the crowded NE US. In my part of the country, any working professional will own a home in the 3,500 - 5,500 sq. ft. range. And if you're willing to drive a little further, your yard will be the size of an average city park in many European cities.
"The average number of cars owned per person is nearly twice as high in the US as the EU: 0.88 registered vehicles per capita, vs. 0.57"
"The average US resident dines out three to five times per week ... the average European just 4.7 times per month [with] dining out being more frequent among high income households and the wealthy"
The US lacks the EU's VAT, which means pretty much ALL products are substantially cheaper. Lower regulations also contribute to lower prices on consumer products, which (when that crushing VAT is added) range from 25% to 50% more expensive in Europe. That, coupled with the lower salaries in Europe, means Americans have more than double the buying power.
"...Average annual salaries in the European Union are significantly lower than in the United States, with US gross wages often 30% to 50% higher for identical professional roles....."
What fantasy world is this? In the US, I've never waited more than 3 or 4 days to see a medical specialist; in urgent cases, the wait is generally only hours long. How's that compare to Europe?
In the UK, 11% of patients wait more than ONE YEAR to see a medical specialist, with another 32% waiting between two months and one year.
In France, 43% wait between 2 months and one year to see a medical specialist, with another 2% waiting over one full year.
In Sweden, 29% wait between 2 months and one year, with another 5% waiting over one full year.
In Germany, 22% wait between 2 months and one year, with another 2% waiting over one full year.
Waiting times for healthcare in Europe: The worst countries ranked
Waiting times for treatment in some European countries can run for years. This has real consequences for patients, experts warn. Euronews Health takes a close look at waiting times across several categories.
www.euronews.com
The number of documented cases of patients dying before they're able to receive medical care in these socialized medical systems is beyond count.
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LordVile95
Posts: 631 +362
Great, more paper walls miles away from anything useful.
Ever thought that’s because people in Europe do this strange thing called walking.
Why would you eat out that often? Just learn to cook. Oh wait maybe you don’t have time after your 13 hour shift with no breaks and then your 2 hour commute home.
No not really. A lot of things are actually VAT free or zero rated. You also don’t have out of pocket expensive for things like health insurance.
Because the cost of living is significantly less. Rent for example in the US is roughly double that of europes.
Is that the first specialist, or the real specialist your insurance made you go through 5 others to get to and pay thousands out of pocket in the meantime? Oh and unfortunately one of those are out of network so you have to pay all of that.
Depends on the condition, would you rather have something that’s not urgent for free or be in debt for the next 10 years to have it now?
Again for what which ones? The wait to see an oncologist is shorter than a podiatrist.
Again you’re not looking at context. You’re also ignoring that most Americans flat out just don’t get the healthcare never mind a waiting period.In Sweden, 29% wait between 2 months and one year, with another 5% waiting over one full year.
In Germany, 22% wait between 2 months and one year, with another 2% waiting over one full year.
Waiting times for healthcare in Europe: The worst countries ranked
Waiting times for treatment in some European countries can run for years. This has real consequences for patients, experts warn. Euronews Health takes a close look at waiting times across several categories.
Funny you haven’t linked one then. I wonder how it cosmos to those who die because they can’t afford healthcare or the insurance took too long or said no in America.
Endymio
Posts: 5,605 +5,224
As fun as walking ten kilometers in a freezing rain is, or a Scandinavian snowstorm, most people -- Even Europeans -- prefer cars. Too bad so many can't afford them.
The European answer to a low salary: just learn to cook. A few more decades of socialism, and it'll be what I experienced as a European under the USSR: "just learn to sew your own clothes", and "just learn to make your own soap".
This is just the sort of juvenile fabrication one would expect from someone who claims "Linus Torvalds can't program in Linux".
No consumer goods, houses, cars, electronics, clothing, dining out, or ten thousand other things a US resident takes for granted being able to buy cheaply.
More absurdities? Most Americans own houses instead of renting, and the per-sq. ft. cost of renting in the US is less than Western Europe, and only slightly more than Eastern Europe.
During my last annual physical, my GP suspected a tumor: he picked up the phone and I saw an oncologist that same day for a biopsy. Test results returned the next day, and I was scheduled for surgery 72 hours after that. My total out of pocket was less a day's wages, and in most EU nations, that process would have been four to eight months on average, and often much longer.
What do you gain by telling these nonsensical lies? The vast majority of Americans (92% have healthcare coverage), and more than half the remaining 8% are young, healthy Americans who choose to not purchase it.
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2024
This report presents data on health insurance coverage in the United States in 2024 based on information collected in the 2025 CPS ASEC.
www.census.gov
What would be the point? The moment I debunk one of your lies with links, you move on to some new fabrication.
LordVile95
Posts: 631 +362
Not really, public transport and bikes are a thing. There’s not much you have to travel that far for.
No? It’s called being social and having basic life skills.
Sure bud you remember the USSR.
He can’t and doesn’t. He states himself that he’s not a programmer. You’re the only making it up.
You mean all the things that are more expensive in America? There’s totally not a housing crisis in the US too with prices massively outpacing wages.
Umm house ownership in EU is slightly higher than the US at 68% vs 66%. Renting is also cheaper on average and that includes actually having rights. Oh and American houses last about 5 minutes because they’re all so poorly built.
And how much is your insurance? And nope on an emergency time frame it would be about the same. It’s not things like that that takes a while, for example getting pins in to a shoulder or leg is quickly getting them out takes longer as it’s lower priority
45,000 people in the US die due to lack of insurance or insurance not covering their medical treatment every year. 30% skip or delay medical care because it’s too expensive, 1/3 have to choose between eating and paying for medical care. Just because people in the middle and American upper class can afford it doesn’t mean the majority can. Having some form of coverage doesn’t mean they have adequate coverage.What do you gain by telling these nonsensical lies? The vast majority of Americans (92% have healthcare coverage), and more than half the remaining 8% are young, healthy Americans who choose to not purchase it.
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2024
This report presents data on health insurance coverage in the United States in 2024 based on information collected in the 2025 CPS ASEC.
You don’t seem to release that I can actually read stats and know yours are effectively meaningless.
Also you could keep the same structure but make it logically funded and it would work out cheaper with everyone having access funded through taxes.
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GoldenGoat
Posts: 420 +379
I don't have a problem with Europe having a law about this or a fine, but the fine should not be based on global sales. What Google does in the rest of the world, including the money they earn there is not Europe's concern. They should only be fining income from Europe. I also think Google should get a warning before the fine comes. The way Europe is approaching this is drawing attention from US leaders and it will damage relations if they keep it up.
Endymio
Posts: 5,605 +5,224
But that's been the pattern EU regulators have followed for decades now. When they see conduct they find objectionable from a US firm, they don't ask them to stop . They allow the conduct to continue for several years, to allow them to issue a monstrous back-dated fine.
LordVile95
Posts: 631 +362
It’s the easiest way to get them to pay attention and stops them moving money to tax havens out of the EU to avoid fines.
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