French court fines Google France 500,000 Euros for gratis Maps

[Vehl]

A Parisian commercial court has upheld a lower court's ruling against Google France, ordering the company to pay a fine of €500,000 for giving away its maps services. The plaintiff, Bottin Cartographes, claims that Google leveraged the market share of its Maps platform -- and the fact that it's free -- to undercut and stifle competition attempting to sell their topographical wares. "We proved the illegality of [Google's] strategy," said Bottin's counsel, noting that this was the first time Google has been convicted of malfeasance for this particular piece of software in the country. A representative from the search giant said it plans to appeal the decision, and reiterated the company's belief that competition exists in the space. Personally, we think the court got it right. Why should people get an awesome product for free when they can pay for an inferior one, right?

source link
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/02/french-court-fines-google-france-500-000-euros-for-gratis-maps/

I'm Speechless.

Google maps, and its turn-by-turn navigation(Both free) are way better by orders of magnitude than any of the paid navigation/mapping services out there(at least the ones available to the public). Real time traffic updates..built in street view...etc etc...all free. Now Google has to pay a fine for giving it out for free.

Look at the IOS/Iphone. Apple doesn't want to support Google's Free turn by turn navigation/maps app, so Millions of Iphone users have to shell out $$$ to buy inferior navigation products.

Old Media/tech practices/models of Business should be thrown out the window...not propped up by fining companies which go against traditional corporate-friendly business models. On a related note, this is a reason why I will never be an Iphone user...dont want to pay through my nose for services which are inferior to free ones available on Android.

[msongs]

1. google is the new corporate bully and posts maps to make money. it does NOTHING for free nt

[Vehl]

3. you are entitled to your opinion

However apart from the Hype one sees against Google in the Media recently( surprise surprise..Google opposed the draconian SOPA/PIPA bill the media companies wanted to pass), It does more for the world than most of the other major tech companies combined.

Look at the contribution to the open source projects from Google, and compare it with the other major Tech companies..especially Apple and Microsoft. The difference is striking.

Ps

Here is an article on why Android is given away for Free by Google, and how this Business model is radically different from other models.

'Closing the knowledge gap': why Google wants Android to be open

A Google team leader explains how making Android's source code open should make cheap smartphones and tablets available for people in the poorest countries

I believe what Android is accomplishing is truly revolutionary. Mobile is the way that billions of people will one day access the Internet. And through that access, we will soon start to narrow the massive knowledge gap that currently divides the richest from the poorest populations. That there's now an eminently capable open source mobile operating system, one that is free to use and free to fork, means that the knowledge advantage can be better and more evenly distributed across the planet than ever before.

For some pundits, it's all about which companies are building the fanciest and most feature-rich handheld computers. Which, if we're being honest about it, are devices for those that already have everything. When you're at the top, it's great to see the tech giants going head-to-head and competing for our dollars like this. Having a few dollars, I benefit from that, too

And yet in spite of that, I'm even more excited about seeing a $25 mobile device that has access to a killer web browser and endless mobile apps, and watching that device appear in the hands of a billion school children over the next 10 years.

We can debate endlessly about which device manufacture added what clever UI to which OS, or what carriers allowed (or banned) which hot little app, or which app store has the more sustainable revenue sharing model for up-and-coming Bay Area startups. But yet, no one is going to remember any of those trivial details in the long run.

Historians are, however, going to make note of how the open source Android platform (or its later forks and clones) played a role in facilitating everything from low-cost solar-powered devices in the remotest villages in India and Africa, to a hundred million tablets computers in the classroom each revolutionizing education for children all across Asia and the Middle East, to putting an internet-connected smartphone in the hands of every man, woman, and child in America, even those from the perpetually overlooked majority that simply can't afford a shiny brand-new iPhone or Galaxy Nexus every Christmas.

So ultimately I don't give two hoots about which vendor or which carrier gets to ship which device on which network with which apps. But I'm stunned, stunned, by the audacity of releasing the Android platform as free and open source software. Not just because how it has already shaken things up at the top. But how it will go on to shake the rest of the planet upside down.

more here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/dec/29/android-open-value

[jsmirman]

9. What's your opinion of google's forced linkage of accounts?

I agree that the French court decision is absurd, but what do you think of this other move by google, which would be a service addition if it were optional, but instead seems like a pretty clear move to monetize.

Am I understanding something about it incorrectly - and, if I am not, what is your opinion of this move by google?

[Vehl]

10. I dont sign into Google accounts when I google.

There was a lot of hue and cry over the recent privacy changes by Google. However imho most of its just paranoia/Misunderstanding.
I have to add that Google gets most of its revenue from advertising. I guess by collating a lot of google services, they might be aiming to bag two birds with one stone.

1) Beat the competition by providing a wide range of services which are interconnected
2) Target ads better to earn more $$$

99% of the so called "records" Google keeps is through the google account. In other words, Say I'm signed onto my gmail. At the same time, I open a few more tabs and google some stuff. This means google knows its "me" who is googling these stuff. The simple and foolproof way of ensuring that Google(not just google, but also for secure browsing in general) does not keep track is to

1 sign out of email/gmail accounts before doing searches. (dont forget to close the browser and open it again)
(Ps: Oh and also..if you have to log in to use some google service...just create a new gmail account (something that is different from your name) and use it to access google services.)


2 Opt out of the Google ad services, which ensures Google will not collect data on you.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacy/tools.html

For example google allows you to do the following and more
A) Opt Outs for search personalization..ad preferences and so on
B) Encrypted Search
C) Incognito mode ( no records will be kept)
D) Off the record Gmail chats
etc etc

3 Change the browser security options to not remember stuff and to clear cookies/not accept them(some sites need you to have cookies, but they are few and you can enable them only for those sites)


4 Install a free program like Advanced system care and run it once in a while to get rid of temporary files/hidden files an cookies in your system(in the event there are already stuff stored on your machine)

http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-SystemCare-Free/3000-2086_4-10407614.html

I'm sure you knew about most of this stuff already, But I posted them just in case you find them useful.

My personal view regarding online privacy borders on paranoia . I go by the simple rule of thumb "Do not post something on the net that you do not want to be leaked". For example, the recent(and frequent) privacy/settings changes on Facebook is so annoying. Often they made changes that made some of my posts visible to people to whom they were hidden. Even more than Google, Facebook and other companies, there are state/non-state actors who might be monitoring the internet( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_%28signals_intelligence%29). Thus its good practice to stay anonymous unless otherwise required.


Google recently made some clarifications about its Privacy changes, to allay unwanted fears
They are as follows

We’re still keeping your private information private -- we’re not changing the visibility of any information you have stored with Google.

We’re still allowing you to do searches, watch videos on YouTube, get driving directions on Google Maps, and perform other tasks without signing into a Google Account.

We’re still offering you choice and control through privacy tools like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager that help you understand and manage your data.

We still won’t sell your personal information to advertisers.
We’re still offering data liberation if you’d prefer to close your Google Account and take your data elsewhere.

http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2012/01/changing-our-privacy-policies-not-our.html

[jsmirman]

12. No, no, I don't know that all, it's very helpful

it just feels like I keep having to sign into accounts to do so many different innocuous things - view a video that is "18+," usually for reasons I can't fathom, signing in and out of my gmail, commenting on a blog entry, etc.

I'll try to work through your suggestions to see if this can all be accomplished in a way that isn't too cumbersome.

I've started running track me not on my firefox and ghostery while in chrome, but track me not, for example, is giving me a hell of a time with one of the sites I visit most frequently.

[Vehl]

13. I have about 2 gmail accounts I use for these stuff

Just so I do not have to use my real gmail account. I know its generally a pain in the neck to have multiple email accounts and to keep track of them, but even ones with easy to remember names would do the trick..such as "[e-mail]" and "[e-mail]". Its really tempting to use our real email id, but its better not to, imho.

As for the Google video sign-on thingie, it used to drive me nuts. But I hear that they have done that due to some legal requirement. I believe Google(or other content providers) have to prove that those who watch the video are above 18(in the Event the Government/courts ask for the data to check no minors accessed the video). The easy way for Google to enforce this is to make users sign in using gmail where we provided a date of birth when we set it up. (i always give a fake one). This was also why people under 18 were not allowed into google+ till recently...and even now only with a lot of limitations.

I haven't used track me not so I dont know much about it, but from the description of how it works(as provided in the track me not sire) I'm not sure about its effectiveness. What kind of errors are you getting with those sites?

If you want to have real secure/anonymous searches I would suggest Tor. However, some sites requiring cookies to work (certain bank sites, online purchases and stuff like that), might act up when we use anonymity-software.


https://www.torproject.org/

I believe they also have a Firefox extension. The disadvantage of using Tor is it slows down browsing speed by about 50%. Still its a good one to have for the times you absolutely need security.

[jsmirman]

14. Yeah, I learned about tor just a few months ago

a classmate mentioned it. Definitely going to check it out.

You're right about the laziness thing - my gmail account was sort of my dummy account, but then I started using it for more and more real stuff to the point that it's sort of a real account now.

I need to set up a dummy dummy account!

As to trackmenot, the site sometimes is just cycling and cycling and not getting to the thread I've clicked on, sometimes I get a "service unavailable message," and, most recently, I got logged out of my sign in.

It's not a site I feel a great need for that kind of anonymity on, so I've been disabling trackmenot when I go there.

It's definitely a process, it seems, learning to manage a few identities and turning your lamp light on and off, so to speak. So I'm working my way through it, definitely taking in whatever advice I can get.

Oh, and thank you.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. It provides superior products to the end user at no cost

Please describe the harm in the short and long term for that

[joshcryer]

8. Nothing is free, Google is getting something out of it, but there's no monetary cost.

[slay]

2. The old style peeps are going to go out fighting

it's too bad they won't embrace the new tech - i'm sure these companies could have worked with google maps. just wait til capitalism in general is targeted - then you'll really see the rabid old school business models come out to fight.

[Vehl]

6. +1!!

[Capitalocracy]

5. Step 1: create a search engine domiciled in France that you have to pay to use

Step 2: sue Google and Yahoo

Step 3: buy top hat and monocle

[Vehl]

7. good one! btw Check out this comment found on the site

So, can French prostitutes sue all the French women that have sex for free causing unfair competition?

[Capitalocracy]

11. I believe the appropriate term for this is:

"Oh, snap."