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It seems like the pace of antitrust actions by U.S. federal government and U.S. states has suddenly ramped up quite a bit. And now we have this, albeit from the

It seems like the pace of antitrust actions by U.S. federal government and U.S. states has suddenly ramped up quite a bit. And now we have this, albeit from the German government. Anyone know why these are all happening at once?

tyleo 6y ago
In the US at least I believe Trump wanted to campaign on the issue and pressured the AG to investigate large tech companies. As I recall many of the investigations weren't complete enough to make the news until nearly election day (this was a point of contention between Trump and the AG2. There might be a few more of these in the works.
pydry 6y ago
Trump doesn't like Facebook. Antitrust overall is a sensible vector of attack. Separating Instagram into a different company could fuck them up. This lawsuit doesn't look like the most sensible mode of attack on the company itself though. Oculus is not strategic. They could sell it and it probably wouldn't bother them. Its not Instagram. I expect the DOJ is conscious that while their current boss doesn't like Facebook, their incoming boss does. So, this appears designed to look aggressive enough to appease Trump while he still has the power to dismiss but toothless enough to fizzle or cause minimal damage once he's gone. I'm half expecting all the tech antitrust lawsuits to just be dropped quietly a month or two after Biden enters office. Either way the tech companies are not really under threat here. Facebook won't cry over losing oculus.
- ekanes 6y ago
  Oculus is incredibly strategic. There is a very high chance that much of the work world (certainly all knowledge creation jobs) will transition to VR within a decade. Seems improbable from here, but just walking the tech forwards in predictable ways and you see it. Lighter, better resolution, etc. Being the dominant platform when(ever) that happens is wildly strategic.
- permo-w 6y ago
  The Oculus part is from the German govt
throwawayzRUU6f 6y ago
Like automakers in Germany, Airbus in France or Samsung in Korea, US tech sector has long been considered crown jewels and given special, lenient treatment by the regulators. However, unlike the others, instead of using this special treatment to reduce risks, FAANMG have decided to monetize it instead, by blatantly exacerbating already questionable anti-consumer practices. Their culture and governance impels them to one-up each other, until they cross the line. If Facebook just required a login, I believe the regulators would let it slip, it's just a toy after all. But in their arrogance, they let their automated algorithms brick customers' $400 device. Although this alone would eventually bring the attention of authorities upon them, they decided to double down on their hubris by not providing any support to the affected customers. And if that wasn't enough, Facebook refuses to even acknowledge the problem and back down. At this point, they are clearly baiting the anti-trust agencies. Not unlike a mafioso blocking a disabled spot in front of the police station.
lock-free 6y ago
The stars are kind of aligning. Conservative wackadoodles, ignoring that reality has a liberal bias, are targeting social media and big tech for this aforementioned bias. Liberal socialists, ignoring that the founders of these big tech companies have created thousands of jobs and trillions of dollars in new wealth ripe for America to reap, are targeting them for the sin of being successful. Big tech, being big and filled with a generation of activist workers, is also flexing its social and political muscles after standing mostly on the sideline for decades. (I hope the sarcasm in this post was obvious) In truth, Big Tech has done bad things (and good!), Liberals and Conservatives have valid gripes (and some not!), it's been decades since meaningful regulation has been enforced (even if some has) and in the wake of the 2016 election and ongoing chaos, tech is both making itself prominent in the political discussion and being made a target of that discussion.

tyleo 6y ago

In the US at least I believe Trump wanted to campaign on the issue and pressured the AG to investigate large tech companies. As I recall many of the investigations weren't complete enough to make the news until nearly election day (this was a point of contention between Trump and the AG2. There might be a few more of these in the works.

pydry 6y ago

Trump doesn't like Facebook. Antitrust overall is a sensible vector of attack. Separating Instagram into a different company could fuck them up. This lawsuit doesn't look like the most sensible mode of attack on the company itself though. Oculus is not strategic. They could sell it and it probably wouldn't bother them. Its not Instagram. I expect the DOJ is conscious that while their current boss doesn't like Facebook, their incoming boss does. So, this appears designed to look aggressive enough to appease Trump while he still has the power to dismiss but toothless enough to fizzle or cause minimal damage once he's gone. I'm half expecting all the tech antitrust lawsuits to just be dropped quietly a month or two after Biden enters office. Either way the tech companies are not really under threat here. Facebook won't cry over losing oculus.

ekanes 6y ago
Oculus is incredibly strategic. There is a very high chance that much of the work world (certainly all knowledge creation jobs) will transition to VR within a decade. Seems improbable from here, but just walking the tech forwards in predictable ways and you see it. Lighter, better resolution, etc. Being the dominant platform when(ever) that happens is wildly strategic.
permo-w 6y ago
The Oculus part is from the German govt

throwawayzRUU6f 6y ago

Like automakers in Germany, Airbus in France or Samsung in Korea, US tech sector has long been considered crown jewels and given special, lenient treatment by the regulators. However, unlike the others, instead of using this special treatment to reduce risks, FAANMG have decided to monetize it instead, by blatantly exacerbating already questionable anti-consumer practices. Their culture and governance impels them to one-up each other, until they cross the line. If Facebook just required a login, I believe the regulators would let it slip, it's just a toy after all. But in their arrogance, they let their automated algorithms brick customers' $400 device. Although this alone would eventually bring the attention of authorities upon them, they decided to double down on their hubris by not providing any support to the affected customers. And if that wasn't enough, Facebook refuses to even acknowledge the problem and back down. At this point, they are clearly baiting the anti-trust agencies. Not unlike a mafioso blocking a disabled spot in front of the police station.

lock-free 6y ago

The stars are kind of aligning. Conservative wackadoodles, ignoring that reality has a liberal bias, are targeting social media and big tech for this aforementioned bias. Liberal socialists, ignoring that the founders of these big tech companies have created thousands of jobs and trillions of dollars in new wealth ripe for America to reap, are targeting them for the sin of being successful. Big tech, being big and filled with a generation of activist workers, is also flexing its social and political muscles after standing mostly on the sideline for decades. (I hope the sarcasm in this post was obvious) In truth, Big Tech has done bad things (and good!), Liberals and Conservatives have valid gripes (and some not!), it's been decades since meaningful regulation has been enforced (even if some has) and in the wake of the 2016 election and ongoing chaos, tech is both making itself prominent in the political discussion and being made a target of that discussion.