Re:The case for ending Amazon’s dominance
by xg15 on Saturday February 17, 2018 @03:15PM
(#16402480)
> Should we really seek to regulate away hard-earned (and valuable!) advantages because they make it possible to abuse the position?
"Regulate away" is a nice expression. It implies that "regulate" is the same as "take away", which I believe is a false assumption.
No one wants to take away their success - however, if you already have powers approaching monopoly, society should absolutely remind you of the responsibilities that come with those powers - and if necessary force you to obey those responsibilities. Nothing else is what regulation is doing.
> Surely we should wait until they’re actually abusing it?
You don't wait with the fireproofing until the house is already burning either.
> As an aside, I can’t think of any advantage Amazon has that wouldn’t open up opportunities for a competitor should they start to abuse them.
It would take a long time until a competitor is actually there that could practically provide the same services. During that time, the damage is done.
"Regulate away" is a nice expression. It implies that "regulate" is the same as "take away", which I believe is a false assumption.
No one wants to take away their success - however, if you already have powers approaching monopoly, society should absolutely remind you of the responsibilities that come with those powers - and if necessary force you to obey those responsibilities. Nothing else is what regulation is doing.
> Surely we should wait until they’re actually abusing it?
You don't wait with the fireproofing until the house is already burning either.
> As an aside, I can’t think of any advantage Amazon has that wouldn’t open up opportunities for a competitor should they start to abuse them.
It would take a long time until a competitor is actually there that could practically provide the same services. During that time, the damage is done.