One possible problem is that there are always more people willing to step in. I assume that I can still find a Japanese to English dictionary by searching Google. If one, or N, such websites get taken out by algorithmic flaws or bad actors reporting competitors, then others will simply rise up and take their place (or Google will subsume their content into the instant answers section). In this way, Google may not really be losing anything even if they are constantly burning their partners - there are always new partners coming up.
Yup. And since almost everyone is using AdSense it doesn't make much difference to them. The funny thing is that my AdSense ban didn't affect the SERP position at all. I was still the second result for "japanese dictionary" on Google and had a steady million pageviews a month for years.
> since almost everyone is using AdSense it doesn't make much difference to them
You’ve hit on the actual problem. This is why so many believe the real fundamental problems the culture is facing with tech companies start with antitrust enforcement.
Yeah, see how in the article, the guy is planning to 'spend his next 1-2 weeks fighting this case' instead of giving Amazon the ultimatum that if they don't fix this quickly, he's going to take his business elsewhere !
