| > How quickly would public opinion change if Google decided to just shut off their service in the EU for a day? Very quickly - against Google. The fact that European citizens have critical business ties to Google (from GSuite to YT partners) is a sword that cuts both ways. It means the EU can't simply shut Google down on a whim; but it also means that Google can't just throw a tantrum and put up a black page saying "we are PROTESTING because your EVIL GOVERNMENT wants to OPPRESS US by asking us to PAY TAXES and ALLOW COMPETITION". Businesses wouldn't stick around to wait for the next time they got randomly locked out of GMail and GDrive. (Not that Google has given the slightest hint of having considered such a move, unlike, say, Meta.) > The world runs on Google and forcing that to change seems like a step backwards at first glance. "Well we have a dominant position, it would be a shame if that were to change" isn't a great defence when you're being specifically accused of abusing your dominant position. |