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That Facebook, or Google, sells ad pricing via a live auction doesn't opine on whether that results in overcharging. The mere fact that participation is effect
by ethbr0 5y ago
That Facebook, or Google, sells ad pricing via a live auction doesn't opine on whether that results in overcharging.
The mere fact that participation is effectively mandatory itself skews the market.
- missedthecue 5y agoMost things we buy are effectively mandatory though. Food, shelter, water, clothing, medicine, and so on and so forth. That can't be the criteria for breaking up a company, which in Facebooks case basically means making them spin Whatsapp and Instagram. (But the management and most of the owners stay the same, mind you)
- ethbr0 5y agoMandatory to buy, but available from a choice of competitors with adversarial interests to each other. IMHO, an adversarial bidding process (under control of one party) is no replacement for a strategic adversary (capable of planning and executing strategy). The former may prevent the most egregious price raises, but it's insufficient for creating the broader competition that ultimately drives prices down.