4 ms·

The dominance of the big tech companies is a mistake, a failure in market regulation - they are allowed to go too far in terms of company mergers and anti-compe

The dominance of the big tech companies is a mistake, a failure in market regulation - they are allowed to go too far in terms of company mergers and anti-competitive behavior. Of course, Europe can't "compete" in exactly that without loosening the shackles in the same way, but that's not something I, for one, would want.

varjag 6y ago
I think they refer to technology innovation rather than the size. Because there is really no shortage of European monster sized companies.
- Yetanfou 6y ago
  There is plenty of tech innovation which heralds from Europe but comes to fruition after moving to the USA. It is not a lack of ideas or one of entrepreneurial spirit but more one of a lack of VC capital and a more stringent legal framework which keeps Europe from producing "the next Google".
  - nix23 6y ago
    That is so true! If you have a innovation (especial in the IT field) you run out of Europe as fast as possible.
    - marcus_holmes 6y ago
      I wonder if it's the appetite for tech investment that causes this. In Australia (outside of a small enclave in Sydney) the only thing that investors know about and want to invest in is Mining (or occasionally Agriculture). I can see the same situation in Germany: investors want to invest in what they know, and very few of them know about tech products. There's little pockets of tech-savvy investors around Europe, but on the whole there's not that many. But California has an abundance of investors who know tech and are willing to invest in it. So it's easy to see why a Euro tech company that wants funding would migrate there.
      - nix23 6y ago
        >But California has an abundance of investors who know tech and are willing to invest in it. Yes i think that's it, i can make a bet that more Windows Servers run in Europe than in the US, Europe is in that field (the mindset) at least 6 years behind the US and China, but some exceptions exists like Estonia.
- kzrdude 6y ago
  What is facebook innovating at?
  - varjag 6y ago
    Facebook brought on transformation in information distribution and social discourse propagation that previously went mostly over top-down media channels. I think it turned to be a net negative, but it was a seminal change.
Fnoord 6y ago
Failure of market regulation, indeed. Look at big tech. Microsoft got big with dirty tactics. Facebook and Google get away with scandal after scandal. You can't compete with crooks. Not in US, nor in EU, nor in world.
- Aerroon 6y ago
  But Facebook and Google didn't get big because of dirty tactics, did they? They genuinely offered something people wanted.
  - nickfromseattle 6y ago
    Facebook, at least, did dirty stuff on the way up. I'm sure there are many more examples I'm unaware of. Facebook pays teens to download VPN to measure app usage on a users device: https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/ Facebook backdoor testing after their VPN was removed from the app store: https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/30/facebook-research/ https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/30/facebook-research/
    - tomp 6y ago
      > Since 2016 Facebook won already in like 2012 or something. What was before that - MySpace? - it just sucked compared to Facebook. Terrible UI. Completely useless, siloed without the "real name" policy. Facebook was a genuine innovation, both in terms of UI, and in terms of marketing (targeting elite schools first was genius, but hardly non-competitive, anyone could have done it).
      - Fnoord 6y ago
        Facebook's real name policy has been determined bogus in Germany (EU).
  - mhoad 6y ago
    I feel like you are fundamentally misunderstanding their entire business model here. The fact that they happened to have popular products is somewhat secondary. They both got to the size that they got by data mining PII and selling it to the highest bidder in various forms.
jb1991 6y ago
What are those shackles you think that are preventing it?

varjag 6y ago

I think they refer to technology innovation rather than the size. Because there is really no shortage of European monster sized companies.

Yetanfou 6y ago
There is plenty of tech innovation which heralds from Europe but comes to fruition after moving to the USA. It is not a lack of ideas or one of entrepreneurial spirit but more one of a lack of VC capital and a more stringent legal framework which keeps Europe from producing "the next Google".
- nix23 6y ago
  That is so true! If you have a innovation (especial in the IT field) you run out of Europe as fast as possible.
  - marcus_holmes 6y ago
    I wonder if it's the appetite for tech investment that causes this. In Australia (outside of a small enclave in Sydney) the only thing that investors know about and want to invest in is Mining (or occasionally Agriculture). I can see the same situation in Germany: investors want to invest in what they know, and very few of them know about tech products. There's little pockets of tech-savvy investors around Europe, but on the whole there's not that many. But California has an abundance of investors who know tech and are willing to invest in it. So it's easy to see why a Euro tech company that wants funding would migrate there.
    - nix23 6y ago
      >But California has an abundance of investors who know tech and are willing to invest in it. Yes i think that's it, i can make a bet that more Windows Servers run in Europe than in the US, Europe is in that field (the mindset) at least 6 years behind the US and China, but some exceptions exists like Estonia.
kzrdude 6y ago
What is facebook innovating at?
- varjag 6y ago
  Facebook brought on transformation in information distribution and social discourse propagation that previously went mostly over top-down media channels. I think it turned to be a net negative, but it was a seminal change.

Fnoord 6y ago

Failure of market regulation, indeed. Look at big tech. Microsoft got big with dirty tactics. Facebook and Google get away with scandal after scandal. You can't compete with crooks. Not in US, nor in EU, nor in world.

Aerroon 6y ago
But Facebook and Google didn't get big because of dirty tactics, did they? They genuinely offered something people wanted.
- nickfromseattle 6y ago
  Facebook, at least, did dirty stuff on the way up. I'm sure there are many more examples I'm unaware of. Facebook pays teens to download VPN to measure app usage on a users device: https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/ Facebook backdoor testing after their VPN was removed from the app store: https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/30/facebook-research/ https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/30/facebook-research/
  - tomp 6y ago
    > Since 2016 Facebook won already in like 2012 or something. What was before that - MySpace? - it just sucked compared to Facebook. Terrible UI. Completely useless, siloed without the "real name" policy. Facebook was a genuine innovation, both in terms of UI, and in terms of marketing (targeting elite schools first was genius, but hardly non-competitive, anyone could have done it).
    - Fnoord 6y ago
      Facebook's real name policy has been determined bogus in Germany (EU).
- mhoad 6y ago
  I feel like you are fundamentally misunderstanding their entire business model here. The fact that they happened to have popular products is somewhat secondary. They both got to the size that they got by data mining PII and selling it to the highest bidder in various forms.

jb1991 6y ago

What are those shackles you think that are preventing it?