WTF happened to Google?

[specious_reasons]

It looks like I can't blame Google for this, some other software was stuck on an update and fucked up Google's installation.

[JoeP]

My first thought was, Google does have a bit of a reputation for withdrawing products without notice.

[Ari]

OMFG gais! It's google!
Google is the one that paid $60m a year to train their AI on Reddit posts.
Google Can Soon Train Its AI on Crazy Reddit Posts | Business Insider Feb 2024

[Ensign Steve]

What could go wrong?

[specious_reasons]

Well, Google is a monopolist, at least in some of what the government accused them of.

Judge rules that Google "is a monopolist" in US antitrust case - The Verge

A federal judge ruled that Google violated US antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly in the search and advertising markets.

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” according to the court’s ruling, which you can read in full at the bottom of this story. “It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.”

Judge Amit Mehta’s decision represents a major victory for the Department of Justice, which accused Google of illegally monopolizing the online search market. Still, Mehta did not agree with all of the government’s arguments. For example, he rejected the claim that Google has monopoly power in one specific part of the ads market. He agreed with the government, however, that Google has a monopoly in “general search services” and “general search text advertising.”