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That is actually how anti-trust regulation is supposed to work. Competitive markets for goods and services tend to produce better results, or at least, that is
by Finnucane 7y ago
That is actually how anti-trust regulation is supposed to work. Competitive markets for goods and services tend to produce better results, or at least, that is the line we hear in Econ 101. But capitalist growth tends to concentration of wealth and power—success grows toward monopoly. So government must wield the hammer of anti-trust to free markets.
- scarface74 7y agoBecause giving the government more power couldn’t possibly go wrong. What do you think are the chances that the Trump administration would go after Fox or a Democratic administration would go after a company full of “the liberal elite”?
- Finnucane 7y agoMore power? It’s a power they’ve had for 100 years.
- haolez 7y agoSometimes it's government policies themselves that unbalance the market and allow the proliferation of monopolies. I'm not sure it's the case with Google, though. Would appreciate a comment from someone more informed.
- ttoinou 7y agoI would be interested in more information about this too. Maybe we can start with intellectual property, for example maybe Google patents that are enforced by governments laws and justice are a huge barrier of entry for potential competitors
- post_below 7y agoThe answer is no. There aren't any significant policies (related to internet search, crawling or intellectual property) which create a barrier for little guys but which Google has the resources to handle (which is usually how regulation stifles disruption, sometimes by design). Don't underestimate the EU though, given some of the ignorant tech regulation they've already passed, it could happen at some point. As Bing has demonstrated, Google's dominance in search is a result of superior technology and a huge lead. Even a company with the resources of MS hasn't been able to do anything but follow behind and create almost good enough copies at each step. Although to be fair that's what MS has always done so maybe a more nimble company might have a shot some day. In the near future AI and machine learning coupled with computing advances could be a way into search for competitors if G doesn't get there first.
- ttoinou 7y agoThere's nothing wrong with an almost monopoly if no ones is forcing people to use the company services. No one is forcing users to use Google
- Finnucane 7y agoSure, no one is ‘forcing’; there’s just very limited choice.