Is Google's contract with Reddit exclusive, so that other search engines aren't given the opportunity to also pay?
I highly doubt that, especially since the DOJ would go after that immediately because of antitrust.
So no, pretty sure the blame here is 100% on Reddit unless you have evidence otherwise.
> so that other search engines aren't given the opportunity to also pay?
this makes it harder for new engines if google has exclusive deals with some of the most popular sites
My comment said, show me that the Google deal with Reddit is exclusive.
You haven't done that.
And there's no reason to think it would be, because of antitrust. The DOJ doesn't have to act "immediately", the point is that obvious antitrust violations come with fines that make it unprofitable to attempt in the first place. And this would be black-and-white obvious antitrust violation, given Google's monopoly status in search. This isn't a gray area where it might be worth it for Google to roll the dice.
