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Re:The Whole Web Pays for Google and Facebook to Be Free by justapassenger on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @10:20AM (#26329437)
> What I truly miss is a competitor for both Google and Facebook. McDonald's has Burger King. Who do we go to when Google and Facebook overcharge us for advertising? The problem here is lack of competition

You do realize that Facebook and Google are separate companies that compete with each other, same as McDonald’s and Burger King?

They need more competition, that’s for sure. But they do compete with each other, same as McDonald’s and Burger King.

Re:The Whole Web Pays for Google and Facebook to Be Free by fakedang on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @11:00AM (#26330118)
They compete in the same market (digital ads) but provide different utilities for the consumer, hence aren't competitors when it comes to user attention. Google provides a search engine, GSuite stack and other free products, YouTube, etc. Facebook provides a social network and networks to connect with their families. There isn't a meaningful competitor for either in either space. And most companies simply retain two marketing budgets - one for Facebook and one for Google.
Re:The Whole Web Pays for Google and Facebook to Be Free by xtracto on Wednesday March 03, 2021 @01:17PM (#26332330)
Exactly, it's like with the Cable providers "competition". They theoretically "compete" because they sell the same, but in reality, geographical availability is set in a way that they are focused on servicing different demographies
Re:The Whole Web Pays for Google and Facebook to Be Free by beagle3 on Saturday March 06, 2021 @04:44PM (#26370797)
They compete with each other in the same way the McDonalds and Burger King compete for the cows that are made into hamburgers ....

Google's and Facebook's customers are the advertisers, and they compete for those. But users are the product from which the burgers are made.