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I think the test should be whether another company could offer a service giving the same result. So for instance this would be fine: - A web hosting company r

by devit 7y ago

I think the test should be whether another company could offer a service giving the same result. So for instance this would be fine: - A web hosting company refusing clients, because you can use another one - Amazon refusing to sell the item themselves, because other companies can sell on the Amazon marketplace - A bank refusing a client, since you can just use another bank This would not be fine: - Apple refusing to list an app on the app store, since no else can do so - Amazon refusing to allow an item on its marketplace at all, since there is no other way to sell to people who buy on Amazon - Google banning something from their search engine, since that's the only way to reach people who search with only Google - PayPal refusing a client, since using PayPal is the only way to easily accept payment from PayPal account holders

zamadatix 7y ago
What if the service is more expensive? What if it has poor service quality? What if it makes it hard to find because your're unpopular? Can you easily define answers to these everyone can follow for more than just a single business example of hosting? If you can does everyone agree it's fair enough? This is the debate, not whether you think hosting can have an enforceable set of rules.
bduerst 7y ago
Which is pretty much where anticompetitive laws are in the U.S. in terms of hurting the consumer. The fringe cases I would worry about are for tiny niche markets where there is only one supplier, or regulatory monopolies (e.g. healthcare networks).
baroffoos 7y ago
So the general rule is that if the companies holds some kind of user lock in they now must accept all legal users. Since a hosting company has no such lock in and moving to another one lets you reach exactly the same audience then they are safe.
Gibbon1 7y ago
That's a good one. Expanding on the banking one. It would be one thing if Wells Fargo wouldn't do business with you. Is another that they flag your ChexSystems Report so you can't open an account anywhere else.
sneak 7y ago
> Apple refusing to list an app on the app store, since no else can do so There are other app stores. Apple just doesn't support using them in their OS. A much better example would be the ability to extend MobileSafari - Apple can and does do this (e.g. readability mode), but nobody else is allowed to (e.g. Instapaper). You can't choose a different default browser on iOS. There's a fine line between "not supported" and "anticompetitive".
dingo_bat 7y ago
> This would not be fine: > - Apple refusing to list an app on the app store, since no else can do so Suppose I launch an phone for kids with it's own dedicated app store. My pitch to parents is that this is a dedicated app store for kid-friendly apps. Now should I not be able to remove pornhub's app from my store? It meets all the criteria: - Nobody else can publish to my app store. - Pornhub is totally legal. - There is no other legal way for my users to run apps, apart from my app store.

by devit 7y ago

zamadatix 7y ago

What if the service is more expensive? What if it has poor service quality? What if it makes it hard to find because your're unpopular? Can you easily define answers to these everyone can follow for more than just a single business example of hosting? If you can does everyone agree it's fair enough? This is the debate, not whether you think hosting can have an enforceable set of rules.

bduerst 7y ago

Which is pretty much where anticompetitive laws are in the U.S. in terms of hurting the consumer. The fringe cases I would worry about are for tiny niche markets where there is only one supplier, or regulatory monopolies (e.g. healthcare networks).

baroffoos 7y ago

So the general rule is that if the companies holds some kind of user lock in they now must accept all legal users. Since a hosting company has no such lock in and moving to another one lets you reach exactly the same audience then they are safe.

Gibbon1 7y ago

That's a good one. Expanding on the banking one. It would be one thing if Wells Fargo wouldn't do business with you. Is another that they flag your ChexSystems Report so you can't open an account anywhere else.

sneak 7y ago

> Apple refusing to list an app on the app store, since no else can do so There are other app stores. Apple just doesn't support using them in their OS. A much better example would be the ability to extend MobileSafari - Apple can and does do this (e.g. readability mode), but nobody else is allowed to (e.g. Instapaper). You can't choose a different default browser on iOS. There's a fine line between "not supported" and "anticompetitive".

dingo_bat 7y ago

> This would not be fine: > - Apple refusing to list an app on the app store, since no else can do so Suppose I launch an phone for kids with it's own dedicated app store. My pitch to parents is that this is a dedicated app store for kid-friendly apps. Now should I not be able to remove pornhub's app from my store? It meets all the criteria: - Nobody else can publish to my app store. - Pornhub is totally legal. - There is no other legal way for my users to run apps, apart from my app store.