[bioemerl]

> Google is presumably not competent or willing here to uphold or conform to important law in a leading democratic region

The fact they are democratic doesn't make all the laws they pass good or worthwhile to "implement".

A key difference here. Google is following the law. They are not implementing the standard that the EU requires because that standard requires overhead.

Google has probably just done the math and realized the effort isn't worth the reward. They'll probably change that once things exit beta.

And if they don't, that's likely the EUs fault more than it is Google. Google isn't just banning the EU for fun, they want that extra reach and money for sure.

[mellosouls]

The fact they are democratic doesn't make all the laws they pass good or worthwhile to "implement"

That's not for Google to decide. Google is a worldwide corporation, not some SV start-up dipping its toe in the water that is only expected to serve a tiny legislative region.

The absurdity of the perspective that they can pick and choose laws to approve should become clear if you change EU-conformance with US.

I'm guessing that this is a temporary situation and Google should clarify that as soon as possible to avoid looking arrogant or incompetent.

[bioemerl]

> That's not for Google to decide.

It is explicitly for Google to decide.

Not releasing a product in the EU is well within their right to do, and if the EU begins to demand not only regulation but also that all products are released equally they'll be holding back the entire world and Google should have the EU entirely.

[lolinder]

It's entirely within Google's rights to decide they don't want to be a worldwide corporation anymore if they find it's unprofitable to continue being one!

The law says "if you want to operate in the EU, you must do X." Google looked at that equation and said they didn't want to do X, so they didn't roll out Bard in the EU. That's in full compliance with the law, no different than PornHub blocking Utah. If you don't like it, talk to your representatives.

I think what people in this thread are really frustrated with is that for a long time the US has been imposing its laws on other countries quite successfully. International corporations have generally found it worthwhile to comply with US law in order to operate there, and people were hoping that the same would be true of the EU. When it turns out that for some companies it hasn't been, it seems unfair.

[ghaff]

So Google is so big that they have to offer all their services in the EU in a way that's compliant with EU laws? They can't simply choose not to offer services that may run afoul of regulations? If some large manufacturer has products not compliant with EU regulations, they're similarly also not allowed to restrict the markets where their products are sold?

[amadeuspagel]

Google is a US company, that's why they have to obey US laws. Companies don't pick and choose which laws to approve, they pick and choose where to do business.

[mellosouls]

The parochial "US company/US customers/US laws" argument here and elsewhere in the thread has already been addressed.

It's a long time since Google has been merely American, its on everybody's desktop and phone and is a huge multinational that is part of everybody's culture.