"The more people there were using Google, the harder it was for other search engines to compete since Google had more data to train the relevance of its engine than anyone else. Google then put its thumb on the scale by paying out over $26 billion a year in payments to ensure it captured the most valuable search entry points, thus preventing any upstart from doing to them what it did to search engines like Alta Vista and Excite decades ago."

If Google is so great why did they have to put their thumb on the scale.

Is the "business model" more fragile and potentially sensitive to competition than those outside the company imagine it.