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A comment on Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch competing products. Parent comment

Re:Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch com... by baddox on Thursday April 23, 2020 @12:03PM (#22957418)
> It is not illegal to have a monopoly; but it is illegal to use a monopoly you have in one area to get an unfair advantage in another.

This is a very common misconception in the United States. It’s how a lot of defenders of antitrust law want antitrust law to work, but it is not how antitrust law does work.

This Supreme Court case explicitly establishes that antitrust laws can be used against companies which obtain a high market share simply by anticipating future demand and responding effectively and efficiently.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Alcoa

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Re:Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch com... by MiroF on Thursday April 23, 2020 @02:05PM (#22958925)
a. That isn't a supreme court case

b. This 1945 precedent is not the standard that most modern antitrust (post-Bell breakup) cases are held to.

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Re:Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch com... by maxwell on Thursday April 23, 2020 @12:45PM (#22957927)
Antitrust law in the U.S. is currently based on the dubious "consumer welfare standard".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Antitrust_Paradox

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Re:Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch com... by TeMPOraL on Thursday April 23, 2020 @01:04PM (#22958160)
> antitrust laws can be used against companies which obtain a high market share simply by anticipating future demand and responding effectively and efficiently.

This would make sense as a feature. If you subscribe to the view that competitive pressure is the source of progress, then you never want any company to actually win. Like a donkey chasing a carrot on a stick, you want companies to endlessly run towards market dominance, but never actually get there - because once they do, they stop contributing to progress.

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Re:Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch com... by baddox on Thursday April 23, 2020 @10:46PM (#22964128)
How so? The point in this example is that they company was contributing to progress.
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Re:Amazon scooped up data from its own sellers to launch com... by xxpor on Thursday April 23, 2020 @12:23PM (#22957661)
Technically not a supreme court case, but kind of close enough.

Also I think there's 0 chance that wouldn't be overturned if tested today.

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