4 ms·
I personally don't see a good rationale for needing to recognize any of them as utilities. There are alternatives to Amazon, Facebook and Google - good ones at
by Aloha 9y ago
I personally don't see a good rationale for needing to recognize any of them as utilities.
There are alternatives to Amazon, Facebook and Google - good ones at that - while it /could/ be argued that a search engine is an essential product, I would argue the opposite - and even more so for social networking and online shopping - if I saw conclusive proof that any go them were using their market power to force competitors out of the market, I might be more agreeable to the concept.
- nikofeyn 9y agowhat are the alternatives?
- nl 9y agoeBay, Snap/Twitter, Bing.
- hooluupig 9y agoTwitter is different from facebook.Snap is not and will never be a facebook alternative(vice versa).Because social network is not just client software but relationships.You can easily replace facebook/whatsapp with snapchat or whatever you like,but how do you persuade your friends and relatives to do that?If none of your friends use the alternatives,you have to reuse facebook.
- crdoconnor 9y agoThey've all used their market power to quash competitors.
- elefanten 9y agoYour language is debatable, on a case by case basis. But even assuming it true, even that is not the standard by which anti-trust is judged. It's judged based on consumer welfare. That's where the debate should lie. And no doubt it is a debate still. And the debate alone could shape actions and outcomes.
- _jal 9y agoThere's no doubt that the consumer welfare standard has been the AT standard for recent memory, but more folks are starting to question if that is the right standard. That's part of the discussion around some of this.
- crdoconnor 9y agohttp://allthingsd.com/20131010/how-jeff-bezos-crushed-diapers-com-so-amazon-could-buy-diapers-com/ http://allthingsd.com/20131010/how-jeff-bezos-crushed-diaper... ...to take one case.