4 ms·
And politics. The general policy of the FTC from the 1980s until about 2020 was that mergers and market concentration are good for consumers and the economy as
by passwordoops 3y ago
And politics.
The general policy of the FTC from the 1980s until about 2020 was that mergers and market concentration are good for consumers and the economy as a whole. Just to take one example, Facebook buying Instagram 100% should have been blocked, but the DOJ under Obama, carrying on the policies of Reagan, Clinton and Bush, decided not to pursue it.
- SllX 3y ago> Facebook buying Instagram 100% should have been blocked On what grounds? Instagram was a small startup with about 30M users when Facebook proffered a deal. People legitimately thought they were overpaying at the time and while it was a hot app, it became the cultural phenomenon it is today under Facebook’s stewardship.
- afavour 3y agoProbably an easier argument to sub out the acquisition of WhatsApp instead.
- SllX 3y agoWhatsApp had a much bigger user base but was still a small startup with about 50 employees and was losing money. The scummy thing was the role Onavo played in Facebook identifying it as an acquisition target, but that’s not the same as illegal. I think this is still a weak case.