[automatwon]

Some companies have used it for language tutoring... What this change will do is chop off those offering free services at the knees and drive the premium services to Twilio, etc.

Google's a business. Why does it have the responsibility to pickup the tab for these businesses?

[xiaoma]

Aside from the fact that education has second order effects that powerfully benefit humanity as whole, good will is a boon for companies. The cost of running hangouts (which is essentially P2P) is a rounding error for Google. Why shut down those who are literally providing education for free?

Every time Google does something like this, it becomes a bit less beloved by consumers, loses a bit more of that halo it had in the early 2000s and finds itself having a bit harder time with regulators in the future.

In Google's IPO filing:

"We aspire to make Google an institution that makes the world a better place. With our products, Google connects people and information all around the world for free. We are adding other powerful services such as Gmail that provides an efficient one gigabyte Gmail account for free. By releasing services for free, we hope to help bridge the digital divide."

"We believe that our user focus is the foundation of our success to date. We also believe that this focus is critical for the creation of long-term value. We do not intend to compromise our user focus for short-term economic gain."