Re:Why Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Need to Be Disrupted
by taurath on Thursday February 08, 2018 @04:52PM
(#16335905)
The corrupting factor of a company being too large and effectively a vertical monopoly has to be weighed against economies of scale. At a certain point new competitors stop existing, and the company can begin milking consumers or users and spending to lock in their position. Microsoft was hit by this, though the tactics have changed (the Network Effect being a natural phenomena but still containing the same properties). I could see them for instance being forced to open their APIs to allow for interoperable products to be developed, or their data troves being broken up.
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Re:Why Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Need to Be Disrupted
by wpasc on Thursday February 08, 2018 @05:01PM
(#16335989)
Regardless of whether or not tech companies should be regulated, I think the nature of tech might make it way, way easier said than done and far more difficult than breaking up Ma Bell or Standard Oil. You mentioned opening API's or breaking up data. I think 1) that is also easier said than done and 2) regulating bodies/congress/public not knowing what an API is speaks to a problem of tech companies potentially being a touch too far removed (in terms of understanding of how they work) for effective regulation
Re:Why Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Need to Be Disrupted
by taurath on Thursday February 08, 2018 @08:42PM
(#16337235)
Microsoft had to have a panel assigned with full access to microsoft source code and systems for a few years, and also was required to share their APIs with third parties. There are elements of the justice system with the expertise to handle it. You'd think the companies would actually want people who know what an API is if they're going through litigation, because a lawyer without context can still win a lot of arguments about harm the company is doing, technical implementation details be damned.