Why are we afraid of antitrust?

Couldn’t it lead to a tech revolution? Sometimes competition is just what the doctor orders to increase innovation. Split them up and then let the free-market dictate who succeed and who fails?

Agreed.

It has worked in the past and can work again in the future.

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The problem frequently comes from how the FTC and DOJ determine the market for specific goods or services. 50 years ago it was pretty clear who made what and what market firms competed in. As we’ve quickly gone from manufacturing things for sale to the general public to service providers and tech companies, the old definitions are awkward to apply and sometime yield strange results. I couldn’t begin to determine how to apply the rules should apply to Facebook, as I think the problems are more how people use it than what it is.

Additionally, more companies to day are global and there are different antitrust regs for foreign operations of American companies. Verizon is buying the company that owns Tracfone. Tracfone is a Mexican company that operates internationally, including having millions of US customers. Somehow, that acquisition will get FTC scrutiny.

What is google? People think it’s a search engine. It isn’t. Google sells ads. Everything else is tied to selling ads.

Don’t forget Facebook

That doesn’t bother me, I’m an adult and am not easily swayed by an ad. I like that Google is easy to use and free.

If I search for a coffee grinder I don’t mind seeing ads for coffee grinders for the next few weeks.

IMO Google doesn’t need to be broken up, if another company can do it better they’re free to. The government doesn’t need to break up a company to give a different company an advantage.

Maybe you are right…they broke up your industry and for a while there was a lot of competition. Ultimately, we will be back to a single one.

That’s the thing. It would be hard to impossible to do. Even Microsoft has not been able to break the monopoly.

The reason you care is google sways search results to steer their political direction

If you Google Joe Biden is a pervert, which seems to be the GOP strategy, you’re not going to get a lot of anti-Trump hits. In fact… If Google is in the business of selling ads and you Google something about Second Amendment rights or law and order, is an advertiser geared to right wingers Going to pay to have a bunch of Black Lives Matter endorsements brought up?

Biden is a pervert, I don’t need to Google it.

I use several sources when reading news or looking for information and go beyond the first few links.

Yes, sometimes I have to go to page 3 or 4 to find what I’m looking for. Sometimes I just go to MSN.

I think that was Reagan’s position. A monopoly is more in what it controls than simply being the dominant player in an industry. I also think globally, there is a larger tolerance for monopolies than here. Because of globalization, we have also grown more tolerant of companies having large market shares.

remind me what happened to Rockefeller with his anti trust break up.
ATT?

People are enamored with the titles (affordable care act) then reality

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We broke up AT&T several years ago but I figure within the next five years it’ll just be AT&T again

Have you ever noticed that most of your predictions fail to materialize?

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It’s easy to mind read when it’s already happened. He’s predicting something that happened 20 years ago.

AT&T for the most part bought up all the baby bells and did call themselves at&t.

That’s a democrat for you. They’re good a predicting what has already happened.

Kind of like Biden. If he predicts he wins and actually does win, it will be his first ever right prediction in politics

You’re right mergers happened. But there were still 4 majore cellular carriers. Today there are 3. Sprint and T Mobile merged. All that needs to happen is for AT&T and Verizon to merge and T-mobile will be no more (within 5 years). Then we will have one.

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