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Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

nytimes.com

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Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#301

Post by wtmt »

Will there be enough political will to get this done even if she becomes president? It seems unlikely that such severe measures would be able to pass unless the named companies help dig themselves deeper by not caring about the distrust and deep disappointment in them (Facebook for one doesn’t seem to care in the sense of really doing something better).

> He (Szabo) added that he also felt Ms. Warren is “wrong in her assertion that tech markets lack competition.”

That’s got to be one of those jokes that go viral. Most of the consumer facing services are heavily concentrated among less than a handful (considering specific areas, and not in general).

It’s time at least some of what she calls for gets done!

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#302

Post by eli_gottlieb »

psadauskas wrote: post #211

How about going after Comcast and Verizon first, the actual tech monopolies ? I already don’t use Facebook, I buy things online from places other than Amazon, and have email accounts that aren’t hosted by Google. However, all of that goes over Comcast’s network because that’s my only viable choice for Internet service. Also, while FAANG occasionally do things I don’t approve of, they don’t actively lobby congress for…

That's a really good point. Let's nationalize the ISPs!

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#304

Post by notatoad »

untog wrote: post #59
crowbahr wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gut reaction: I feel like Android would not survive Google being forced to remove all their apps from the Google play store.

Android is perhaps the closest in comparison to Microsoft/Internet Explorer. Spin off Android into its own company, including the Play Store. There would be nothing stopping Google from keeping their apps in the Play Store, but they would sit on the same level as competing mapping and search apps, and users would choose which one to use instead of have it preinstalled.

You need to remember that android's customers aren't the end users of the phones, its customers are the OEMs. Spinning off android into its own company separate from Google wouldn't mean the end user gets a preference of which mapping or search app to install, it means the company selling the phone (either the phone brand or the cell network) gets to choose.

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#305

Post by throwaway-1283 »

I'd have to see the details, but I'm pro something like breaks up the talent monopoly that FAANGs have, especially in the Bay Area.

Early stage startups can't compete for talent in the Bay Area. If breaking up giants creates more competition for talent, then I'm supportive.

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#306

Post by ApolloFortyNine »

rayiner wrote: post #292
psadauskas wrote: post #211

How about going after Comcast and Verizon first, the actual tech monopolies ? I already don’t use Facebook, I buy things online from places other than Amazon, and have email accounts that aren’t hosted by Google. However, all of that goes over Comcast’s network because that’s my only viable choice for Internet service. Also, while FAANG occasionally do things I don’t approve of, they don’t actively lobby congress for…

That odd SV myopia. The trend in broadband has been more competition. Verizon competes with Comcast in almost its entire FiOS service area. These days it also competes with cellular—15% (and growing) of households have abandoned wired broadband in favor of cellular. There are four major cellular providers. In tech, the trend has been in the other direction. If you don’t consider Sprint a viable competitor to AT&T, wh…

You have to look at areas where Comcast is the only choice, what the prices and speeds available are there, and the prices and speeds that are suddenly available when a competitor arises.

And phone service is not a viable alternative. Even 50gb (the standard cap it seems nowadays before throttling) gets you only 10-20 hours of video at high quality.

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#307

Post by andrewla »

tantalor wrote: post #232
andrewla wrote: post #150

From Warren's blog post: > ... Google’s ad exchange and businesses on the exchange would be split apart. Google Search would have to be spun off as well. I think maybe her team needs to do a little more research on what Google's business is. Splitting off Android/Play or GCP at least creates potentially viable businesses. Splitting up search and ads creates two non-viable businesses.

> two non-viable businesses 1. Search company earns money by selling ad spots to ads company. 2. Ads company earns money by selling ads to merchants.

The problem is that 1. is better known as "Search + ads".

To put it differently, how does GSearch decide what and whether to show ads for a given search? Well, they could sell keywords by auction to parties interested in placing ads, and then use clicks and other user feedback to decide how relevant they are (that is, how much UX is lost by placing ads nobody clicks on top of results that users want). Whether they're selling to GAd or directly to merchants, or to SEM companies that act as middlemen in the current world does not seem like the important issue.

You could in theory separate search engine ads from site ads, but I don't think anyone is really complaining about the fact that Google owns so much of that business.

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#308

Post by streblo »

rayiner wrote: post #292
psadauskas wrote: post #211

How about going after Comcast and Verizon first, the actual tech monopolies ? I already don’t use Facebook, I buy things online from places other than Amazon, and have email accounts that aren’t hosted by Google. However, all of that goes over Comcast’s network because that’s my only viable choice for Internet service. Also, while FAANG occasionally do things I don’t approve of, they don’t actively lobby congress for…

That odd SV myopia. The trend in broadband has been more competition. Verizon competes with Comcast in almost its entire FiOS service area. These days it also competes with cellular—15% (and growing) of households have abandoned wired broadband in favor of cellular. There are four major cellular providers. In tech, the trend has been in the other direction. If you don’t consider Sprint a viable competitor to AT&T, wh…

> The trend in broadband has been more competition.

In the past decade I've lived in three different cities, and in each one Comcast was the only provider available. Do we really not think Comcast has a monopoly?

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#309

Post by Bhilai »

logicchains wrote: post #94
Shivetya wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She has no proof, she does not need any. this is typical politician using FUD to scare the populace into letting them take actions which in the end only go to bolster their own campaign coffers and personal riches. With the upcoming Presidential campaign you can expect politicians tripping over each other using jealously and fear to get people to plea for action. Amazon is not a Standard Oil by any measure as they ha…

>Google is, well google. I don't have to use their search engine if I don't want to. When threads like this come up I always wonder how the engineers who worked on Bing must feel. I'd feel pretty disheartened if people had such a low opinion of my product that my competitor was considered a monopoly.

Bing is as good as Google in many cases and is better than Google in some cases. IMO, thats no small feat. Bing is profitable too, unlike many other silicon valley companies so I don't think they feel disheartened.

Re: Elizabeth Warren Proposes Breaking Up Tech Giants Like Amazon

#310

Post by mindcrime »

Just say "no" to more government manipulation of the market. In fact, we need to rollback a lot of the ways government distorts markets today. See, for example: regulatory capture[1] and patent evergreening[2].

Too often it's government intervention which creates the very "problems" that they then turn around and claim to be trying to solve.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreening

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