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A comment on Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network. Parent comment

Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by maverick_iceman on Thursday April 20, 2017 @01:26PM (#14158783)
Also, I don't see why a monopoly is inherently bad. If consumers actually benefit from it then what's the rationale in breaking it up? Moreover, sectors like social networking naturally favor monopolies; it's no good if your friends are scattered around 10 different sites.

The current understanding of US antitrust laws is similar. The Justice Department pursues antitrust actions only if the end consumer is being hurt.

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Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by xapata on Thursday April 20, 2017 @01:39PM (#14158936)
Monopolies maximize profit by setting a price greater than the market clearing price, causing a lot of unmet demand.
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Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by wbl on Thursday April 20, 2017 @02:27PM (#14159381)
Except that price must be below what competitors will offer.
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Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by chasing on Thursday April 20, 2017 @02:32PM (#14159445)
No. This is the problem with monopolies. They use other advantages to win markets without competing on price, features, or innovation. It's harmful to consumers.
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Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by xapata on Thursday April 20, 2017 @11:35PM (#14162924)
A monopoly by definition has no competitors.
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Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by wbl on Friday April 21, 2017 @01:59AM (#14163397)
Yes it does! It has all the competitors that could and would be started if prices rose.
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Re:Why Facebook Keeps Beating Every Rival: It’s the Network by xapata on Friday April 21, 2017 @09:45AM (#14165522)
You're counting hypothetical competitors? So how do you propose measuring how many competitors there are in a particular market? With that definition, there are an infinite number even if I can currently purchase from only one vendor.
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