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Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

theregister.com

21–30 of 59 posts

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#21

Dumb government. Higher prices and less variety for you. Why can’t they just let adults buy and sell the way they want to?

Why can’t they just let adults buy and sell the way they want to?

Would be nice but Amazon are quite keen on not letting that happen.

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#23
post #22

The law just needs to be: You can be the platform or you can be on the platform, but not both.

I agree. There are similar laws for many other industries already that either prohibit or put operational restrictions such that their "on the platform" subsidiaries are on equal footing with competition.

Enron was breaking this principle when their energy traders would call up a power plant they also owned and ask for an unscheduled outage. I don't remember if this was specifically illegal in this case, but I used to have to take an online class once a year to remind me not to share any non-public data with marketing in one such regulated industry and that there would be serious consequences if this rule was broken.

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#25
post #22

The law just needs to be: You can be the platform or you can be on the platform, but not both.

Yup. A complete ban on in-house brands for anyone operating a marketplace.

Including grocery stores?

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#26

Every single grocery store uses data to curate and prioritize house brand products. Somehow this is lauded in the food industry, but demonized in the tech industry.

It’s not lauded. Suppliers hate the power the big supermarkets have over them. But stores’ data is probably down the list after the payment terms they dictate, not being paid , and payment for in-store product placement etc

Suppliers are welcome to get into the dirty business of dealing with the retail public for 2% profit margins.

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#27

Dumb government. Higher prices and less variety for you. Why can’t they just let adults buy and sell the way they want to?

Why can’t they just let adults buy and sell the way they want to? Would be nice but Amazon are quite keen on not letting that happen.

Amazon has never stopped anyone from putting up a website and shipping things to customers.

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can’t they just let adults buy and sell the way they want to? Would be nice but Amazon are quite keen on not letting that happen.

Amazon has never stopped anyone from putting up a website and shipping things to customers.

They certainly have stopped people doing it at prices cheaper than they sell through Amazon. They're running a protection racket.

Re: Brits make Amazon, Meta stop using third-party data to undercut rivals

#29
post #22

The law just needs to be: You can be the platform or you can be on the platform, but not both.

Ok, honest question. Wouldn’t this just encourage conglomerate interests to capture the value outside the company? Seems like a logical place for a large PE funded wedge company if the opportunity was made available like that. Going from one player to two is very possible if we do something simplistic — it’s a big juicy target and a land grab if it’s simply divested. How can we insure a healthy diversity instead of the immediate reconsolidating that would come with a simple separation of interests?

I am for these changes, just asking the question I honestly worry about.

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