I think this is the right approach: to require third-party companies to have access to a dominant company’s network after the network has reached a certain thre

I think this is the right approach: to require third-party companies to have access to a dominant company’s network after the network has reached a certain threshold of size or age. I like to use the craigslist.org example: a company that is still dominant basically because it is free and was launched in 1995. We’re stuck using the ugly craigslist UI because their network is the oldest and biggest. Several companies have attempted to innovate on the craigslist.org experience but were forced to stop due to lawsuits (e.g. padmapper, 3taps, RadPad). If we wish to allow competition and innovation in the classified advertising space, then I don’t think there is a good dimension to split up the craigslist company (by metro area? by apartments vs for sale?). Instead, we should promote competition by allowing competitors to access their APIs for free or for a reasonable price. The network that a web company creates should not belong to one company forever.