[nl]

While this is a commonly understood argument on HN, this doesn't appear to be the Federal Government's argument at all.

Instead, they are arguing that Google should be forced to share user data with rivals (like Bing).

This might surprise many in the tech community - even those who are sympathetic to the idea that big tech is too big (because it seems a terrible idea).

However, it appears to be a fairly common lobbying point. Notably in Australia a similar argument against Google in the news field is seen where news organisations don't get access to audience preferences for advertising.

TL;DR: The government appears to be looking to force Google to share personal data with other companies which is likely to be the opposite of what many consumers want.

[Covzire]

I wonder if sharing "user data" with Bing would even make it more useful. It seems like the biggest problem with Bing and all other search engines is they are still >22 years behind Google in their search algos.

[nl]

This antitrust action isn't about improving Bing's search, it's about improving Bing's advertising business.

[Covzire]

If you ask me, they're highly correlated.

[nl]

Yes, one way to a more profitable search business would be the normal way - make search better etc so you get more traffic.

The other is to get additional sources of data so your ads are more valuable even with the same amount of traffic.