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From the perspective of the law, their duopoly implies competition. They do not have the durable market power of, say, American Sugar. Google very craftily, al

From the perspective of the law, their duopoly implies competition. They do not have the durable market power of, say, American Sugar. Google very craftily, allows anyone to manufacture hardware for their Android OS. Not only that, they allow anyone to change their OS in anyway they see fit. The fact that most people don't is immaterial to the courts. Apple has an even more unassailable defense against the durability of their power. ie - their year over year market share graphs. The downward trend in market share would fly in the face of any assertion that they have durable market power. The only real way forward is to forget the old legal facilities of "monopoly" and "trust", and to make new laws. The old laws simply don't fit the time. How is any attorney to be expected to argue durability of a company with declining market share in any legally sensible fashion? If we're serious about going after companies like Apple, we need new tools.

heavyset_go 6y ago
> From the perspective of the law, their duopoly implies competition. From the perspective of the law, a duopoly can imply a cartel[1], especially given the price fixing[2] Apple and Google engage in[3] in the mobile app distribution market. Also, a trust[4] can refer to a duopoly in antitrust[5] law: > A trust or corporate trust is a large grouping of business interests with significant market power, which may be embodied as a corporation or as a group of corporations that cooperate with one another in various ways. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law#Cartels_and_collusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law#Ca... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26486737 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26486737 [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(business) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(business) [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
taylodl 6y ago
> If we're serious about going after companies like Apple, we need new tools. If their market share is declining year-over-year then why do we need to go after them? It seems like the market is telling them they need to change their ways. Or maybe they're happy being a niche player catering to a niche user who's fine with the status quo. After all, those customers who are happy with the status quo in and of themselves comprise a market segment. Besides which Microsoft has the wherewithal to re-enter the market anytime they wish.
jsnell 6y ago
> The downward trend in market share would fly in the face of any assertion that they have durable market power. The iPhone's market share has been trending up in the US, not down. It was around 60% in Q4 2020. Does that change your opinion?
- endisneigh 6y ago
  Why is it a problem?

heavyset_go 6y ago

> From the perspective of the law, their duopoly implies competition. From the perspective of the law, a duopoly can imply a cartel[1], especially given the price fixing[2] Apple and Google engage in[3] in the mobile app distribution market. Also, a trust[4] can refer to a duopoly in antitrust[5] law: > A trust or corporate trust is a large grouping of business interests with significant market power, which may be embodied as a corporation or as a group of corporations that cooperate with one another in various ways. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law#Cartels_and_collusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law#Ca... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26486737 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26486737 [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(business) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(business) [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

taylodl 6y ago

> If we're serious about going after companies like Apple, we need new tools. If their market share is declining year-over-year then why do we need to go after them? It seems like the market is telling them they need to change their ways. Or maybe they're happy being a niche player catering to a niche user who's fine with the status quo. After all, those customers who are happy with the status quo in and of themselves comprise a market segment. Besides which Microsoft has the wherewithal to re-enter the market anytime they wish.

jsnell 6y ago

> The downward trend in market share would fly in the face of any assertion that they have durable market power. The iPhone's market share has been trending up in the US, not down. It was around 60% in Q4 2020. Does that change your opinion?

endisneigh 6y ago
Why is it a problem?