13th
Interesting responses to my CNN op-ed on Google, Free and Antitrust
Last week I wrote a piece for CNN wondering if the Obama adminstration’s tough new line on antitrust could end up limiting Google’s use of Free to gain share in new markets (because it’s subsidizing that entry with monopoly profits from search ads). Dana Wagner, Google’s chief antitrust council, replied on the Google policy blog. Sample: “It is true that if a company has a dominant product, it may run afoul of antitrust laws if it “ties” that product to another — for instance, by requiring customers who buy that product to buy another product as well. When a company provides products for free on a stand-alone basis, however, it’s not requiring anyone to buy anything. It may take business away from other companies trying to charge users for similar products, but that’s hardly an antitrust issue.” eWeek’s Google Watch has a good roundup of the arguments on both sides.
