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I wonder if US officials will be concerned by the prospect that breaking up these companies may potentially cede market share to tech companies in other countri

I wonder if US officials will be concerned by the prospect that breaking up these companies may potentially cede market share to tech companies in other countries, such as China. Especially if other countries don't bother breaking up their tech companies if they get too large.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago
I think fear of China is a common bogeyman to throw out to try to avoid tech regulation. And I don't feel it's a very compelling argument: Tech monopolies squash newer, more innovative competitors. The monopolies are holding us back. For all of the innovation you may believe tech monopolies have accomplished, it pales in comparison to what we'd accomplish without them in a competitive environment where the best technology wins, instead of the biggest monopoly. The ability to foster rapid, zealous competition is the strength of capitalism and it's what we have over China. We need to get the established corporate entities using their market power to harm competition out of the way.
- lumost 7y ago
  This is only true in a world where the barrier to entry is low, and innovation is "cheap". There is a possibility that true innovation on the internet is becoming expensive e.g. how much does it cost to gain a 1% relevance improvement in search results? how much does it cost to take photos of every street corner twice as often as google?
- jameslk 7y ago
  Wouldn't opening up competition to other companies be exactly the reason why such non-US competitors may be able to acquire more market share? The only way I could see the US being able to regulate non-US competitors who grow too large is to fine them, such as what the EU does. Although that may not be enough to stop them from acquiring market dominance and may cause retaliation (such as the current trade war). To be clear, I'm not a shill for these big tech companies. I don't currently work in any of them nor have stock in any. I'm concerned about their dominance, stifling of competition and their use of market position to render consumers powerless just as much as you may be.
  - joe_the_user 7y ago
    It's hard to see search as anything but a winner takes all affair. If you have the best results, why wouldn't the world come to you?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
komali2 7y ago
If we wanted to actually compete with China we'd do what they did - grant immunity to copyright law to a Chosen Company for a given product line (chat, search, video, whatever) and leverage the legal system to block foreign competitors to Chosen Companies from functioning within China (i.e. google search, facebook). I'm not interested in what it'll take to compete with China because we'll have to act like assholes to do it.
- Craighead 7y ago
  But that's how the world works...
munk-a 7y ago
US companies don't have citizenship. The big Chinese companies are mostly owned by high ranking party members, but if the US government does ill against Google it'll be shipping off to <insert tax haven here> before you can blink. Google isn't even in the top 25 of employers in the US - it's theoretically a large revenue source[1] but losing it would be nothing to the US economy when compared to losing a company like Walmart. 1. US employees at Google probably do pay some substantial income taxes - Google evades corporate taxes much like other corporations, but seems to be a bit less ridiculous in its effort than, say, Amazon.
- bduerst 7y ago
  Focusing just on the companies with the most employees would mean the U.S. would become a retail nation, since that's the industry with the most head count. It isn't the best metric to measure by, since companies can also redistribute their revenue locally through capex, investments, services, and other costs.
gowld 7y ago
There's no reason for US goverment to enforce how countries behave in other countries. US goverment can protect US against Chinese threats, and other governemtns can protect their countries against US or Chinese threats.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

I think fear of China is a common bogeyman to throw out to try to avoid tech regulation. And I don't feel it's a very compelling argument: Tech monopolies squash newer, more innovative competitors. The monopolies are holding us back. For all of the innovation you may believe tech monopolies have accomplished, it pales in comparison to what we'd accomplish without them in a competitive environment where the best technology wins, instead of the biggest monopoly. The ability to foster rapid, zealous competition is the strength of capitalism and it's what we have over China. We need to get the established corporate entities using their market power to harm competition out of the way.

lumost 7y ago
This is only true in a world where the barrier to entry is low, and innovation is "cheap". There is a possibility that true innovation on the internet is becoming expensive e.g. how much does it cost to gain a 1% relevance improvement in search results? how much does it cost to take photos of every street corner twice as often as google?
jameslk 7y ago
Wouldn't opening up competition to other companies be exactly the reason why such non-US competitors may be able to acquire more market share? The only way I could see the US being able to regulate non-US competitors who grow too large is to fine them, such as what the EU does. Although that may not be enough to stop them from acquiring market dominance and may cause retaliation (such as the current trade war). To be clear, I'm not a shill for these big tech companies. I don't currently work in any of them nor have stock in any. I'm concerned about their dominance, stifling of competition and their use of market position to render consumers powerless just as much as you may be.
- joe_the_user 7y ago
  It's hard to see search as anything but a winner takes all affair. If you have the best results, why wouldn't the world come to you?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

komali2 7y ago

If we wanted to actually compete with China we'd do what they did - grant immunity to copyright law to a Chosen Company for a given product line (chat, search, video, whatever) and leverage the legal system to block foreign competitors to Chosen Companies from functioning within China (i.e. google search, facebook). I'm not interested in what it'll take to compete with China because we'll have to act like assholes to do it.

Craighead 7y ago
But that's how the world works...

munk-a 7y ago

US companies don't have citizenship. The big Chinese companies are mostly owned by high ranking party members, but if the US government does ill against Google it'll be shipping off to <insert tax haven here> before you can blink. Google isn't even in the top 25 of employers in the US - it's theoretically a large revenue source[1] but losing it would be nothing to the US economy when compared to losing a company like Walmart. 1. US employees at Google probably do pay some substantial income taxes - Google evades corporate taxes much like other corporations, but seems to be a bit less ridiculous in its effort than, say, Amazon.

bduerst 7y ago
Focusing just on the companies with the most employees would mean the U.S. would become a retail nation, since that's the industry with the most head count. It isn't the best metric to measure by, since companies can also redistribute their revenue locally through capex, investments, services, and other costs.

gowld 7y ago

There's no reason for US goverment to enforce how countries behave in other countries. US goverment can protect US against Chinese threats, and other governemtns can protect their countries against US or Chinese threats.