Antitrust intensifies
There is a stronger case for breaking up Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon than there was for breaking up Standard Oil:
Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft all easily have more than 10 times the net income as did Standard Oil when it was broken apart. Apple coming in at close to 50 times the net income! Cisco and Intel come in just under 10 times the net income as compared to Standard Oil, both at 9.9 times greater net income than Standard Oil when it was broken apart.What is holding Republicans back? This is an absolute no-brainer as well as a certain vote winner across the political spectrum?
If 91 percent control of the oil refining industry and net income of $35 million per year was enough to break apart Standard Oil under the terms of the Sherman Antitrust Act, there are a few tech super giants that would face a similar fate if the trust-busting philosophies that held sway during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt were en vogue today.
In January, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled The Antitrust Case Against Facebook, Google and Amazon. The article reports that these major tech firms each have greater control over certain high tech industry sectors than Standard Oil had over oil production during its heyday. For example, 95 percent of young adults using the Internet subscribe to a Facebook product, whether it’s the company’s flagship social network or other services like Instagram or WhatsApp. Google controls 89 percent of Internet searches.
Where monopolies don’t exist, duopolies certainly do; Google and Apple, for example, collectively hold 99 percent of the mobile operating software market.
If the percentage of market share for important tech sectors held by these titans wasn’t enough, the massive fortunes these companies continue to generate would seem likely to trigger at least some antitrust scrutiny. Remember, Standard Oil’s annual net earnings through 1906 earned what today would be $969 million each year in 2017 dollars, adjusted for inflation. To some of the tech super giants of today, $1 billion in profits is nothing more than pocket change.
Labels: history, law, technology
71 Comments:
"What is holding Republicans back?"
To ask the question is to answer it.
What is holding Republicans back?
I'd say bribes, but in this country we call them campaign contributions.
Repubs are the Washington Generals--stooge and tools of The Dems.
If the greatest government enabled brain trust in all history is broken up, who will enforce the social justice? Think about the children.
We're ALL Being Groomed
Estos rascando las bolas?
the Bush / Clinton crime family?
Looks like we finally found something that Conservative Inc conserves - leftist monopolies.
Bounce the rubble.
I'd say bribes, but in this country we call them campaign contributions.
I'd add the economic libertarian pundits that dominate conservative inc that keep the voters pacified on the almighty god known as captialism.
Other than the GE, there's not a single set of balls in the GOP, and the GE would rather negotiate than use the power the Constitution grants him.
Though I despise the great tyrant Lincoln, no one can say the man didn't have a giant set of brass balls.
Me, I'd like to see a revision of the Communications Act, to permit antitrust proceedings to be instituted against the six corporations which control 90+% of the news and entertainment in this country. That especially includes the Devil Mouse.
What's holding them back? I'd say video of them raping and then consuming children.
Could be blackmail holding them back, but we can't rule out massive donations/bribes from the companies involved.
When Democrats are bought, they STAY bought. Republicans, on the other hand, are sluts, not whores. They defend Google, Amazon, etc, as a matter of principle. They actually think that it's good for America.
This stuff wouldn't be the way it is unless there was active collusion with the political class. Could be mostly informal. No meeting in a back room to discuss stuff, just the expectation of mutual accommodation. And antitrust has a long history of being implemented in a political framework.
So... we are not going to see antitrust unless it serves the interest of somebody in Washington. If the Republicans do well and Trump feels empowered, maybe there will be movement. From Trump, with a few Republican supporters.
LAZ wrote:What's holding them back? I'd say video of them raping and then consuming children.
recorded by the Android devices
What is holding Republicans back? Well, the fact that most (not all) of them are controlled-opposition, or the right hand of the globohomo beast, for one....
They don't need to do it though. 2020 is Trumps no matter what and there is a tiny minority of people who care about the future past their current election cycle.
Also, is it possible that breaking those companies up would severely effect the GDP? We all know how important GDP is to the cucks.
Hopefully Trump announces it in the general election. Easy wins become easier.
Just a bit more context missing from his chart of net income/earnings:
ExxonMobil has been earning $14-20 billion each of the last few years, also dwarfing Standard Oil, and much of that is simply because it actually IS a much larger operation, global. And that is as large or larger than most of the tech companies on his chart.
So the chart is somewhat cherrypicked and only superficially shocking.
The google and Facebook, % market dominance is a far bigger a deal given what they are used for inconjunction with their politicization, and a much strong case for antitrust action.
Amazon probably needs to be cut down to size too. Their expansion into shipping and delivery seems to be begging for it, but they don't seem to be the same sort of political threat as the first two.
Apple had the biggest earnings by far on the chart, but has far more limited influence than the others.
So how do you break apart a tech company?
It was much easier to break apart Standard Oil because oil is the natural resource which is being extracted and refined. However, it is much more difficult to do something with software as it is a product unto itself.
It has more to do with standardization like how we've standardized on gasoline and diesel engines instead of alcohol ones.
What you should be able to do is to focus on individual anti competitive strategies that are employed by these companies. For Apple it would be things like right to repair legislation.
Also, the author Gene QUinn an "IP lawyer" is big on the patent extortion game where companies that didn't do squat squeeze money out of other companies on the basis of ridiculously broad readings of patents that probably should never have been granted in the first place, particularly in the abomination that "software patents" generally are.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi wrote:So how do you break apart a tech company?
It was much easier to break apart Standard Oil because oil is the natural resource which is being extracted and refined. However, it is much more difficult to do something with software as it is a product unto itself.
You are completely wrong. In fact, it is quite easy. Let me do it:
Google: Break apart Google Search, Google Adwords, Google Apps, YouTube, etc. Consent decree forcing Google Search to accept all ad companies with no advantage for Adwords and force them to choose between content provider/editor or neutral platform.
Facebook: Break apart Facebook the website from Facebook ads, divorce Instagram and other apps into separate companies. Consent decree to force them to choose to be content provider/editor or neutral platform.
See, not so hard.
Dems are the ex wife. Repubs are the side piece that someday hopes to marry him.
I seem to have become a propertarian.
JG wrote:Other than the GE, there's not a single set of balls in the GOP, and the GE would rather negotiate than use the power the Constitution grants him.
Yeah, his greatest strength really is also his greatest weakness.
Bernard Brandt wrote:Me, I'd like to see a revision of the Communications Act, to permit antitrust proceedings to be instituted against the six corporations which control 90+% of the news and entertainment in this country. That especially includes the Devil Mouse.
Actually apply the laws, and this would be a non-issue.
FUBARwest wrote:Also, is it possible that breaking those companies up would severely effect the GDP? We all know how important GDP is to the cucks.
So? This is like saying that because Evil Foreign Owned Company contributes to the economy, we shouldn't consider it a vector for espionage and sedition and treason. — I'd rather have Just laws than a super-high GDP.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi wrote:So how do you break apart a tech company?
Gleefully.
It's not all that hard; you atomize the functionality, using Google as an example:
— Gmail,
— YouTube,
— Documents,
— Cloud,
— Search engine,
— AdSense,
— etc.
all become their own products.
Sure, they're all virtually guaranteed to fail because without the tight-integration they can't leverage off one another's functionality, presence, and market-share.
Now, if you could hit them with RICO for their H1B fraud concurrently with the anti-trust… well, that would be amazingly fun.
Maybe the God-Emperor should start referring to big tech as “Skynet”. Couldn’t hurt to trial balloon it.
Applying Sherman and Clayton acts to the medical industry would be a sure fire campaign winner, too. I would love to have the CEO of the corporation that manufacturers the Epipen explain in a Federal court why they charge such high prices for their product. I would similarly love to hear a hospital CEO explain in court why his hospital colludes on prices with insurance agencies, when such collusion is criminally felonious.
Carl Denninger has been pounding the desk on the need for application of anti-trust laws to the medical industry for years now. Cutting medical care costs by up to 80% would allow the President who did this to name his successor after 8 years in office.
National politics is over sometime in the next decade or two. Time to focus on state sovereignty IMO.
27. Unknownsailor November 20, 2019 11:37 AM
Carl Denninger has been pounding the desk on the need for application of anti-trust laws to the medical industry for years now.
you seem to be under this misapprehension that this was happenstance
...
rather than being a designed feature that was intentionally created by Congress and the courts.
What is holding Republicans back?
Because they are the Junior Partners, remember?
Repubs are like an attack dog that is only viscous while it’s on the leash. Take it off and it runs away
"Amazon probably needs to be cut down to size too. Their expansion into shipping and delivery seems to be begging for it, but they don't seem to be the same sort of political threat as the first two."
Where have you been? All sort of pics and video of Bezos hobnobbing with globohomos
@9 CM wrote:
I'd add the economic libertarian pundits that dominate conservative inc that keep the voters pacified on the almighty god known as captialism.
There is nothing inherently evil about capitalism. Cronyism is where it goes wrong.
Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple are the Internet cartel. If we frame them like that, maybe we can get some traction on this.
There has to be some way to achieve balance between the efficiency of the profit-driven private sector and the government tasked with oversight of the well-being of it's citizens without overstepping boundaries.
The real estate industry has done this mostly successfully (minus the crash of 2008 which was driven by Obama administration policy), I don't see why the tech giants can't, other than them not wanting to give up their mind control of the masses.
Dan in Georgia wrote:Repubs are like an attack dog that is only viscous while it’s on the leash. Take it off and it runs away
This is perfect.
"What is holding Republicans back?" - was that a serious question, Vox?
They have already been caught colluding to rig the job market.
It's only a matter of time.
Unknownsailor wrote:Carl Denninger has been pounding the desk on the need for application of anti-trust laws to the medical industry for years now.
It's really a pity that Carl is totally ineffective at transmitting and implementing his ideas, because he does have some sensible ideas.
I've heard things are worse in the Latin American countries. There, many of the mobile plans are managed by Carlos Slim, who still charges for data and text. But if you use the Facebook app on your phone, all data and text through that is unlimited.
I didn't say there was.
There also isn't anything in it that inspires the kind of devotion that the Right has for it.
It's an economic policy and should be treated as such. And socialism isn't the only alternative, though I'm unsure of all of the economic political theories that exist.
recorded by the Android devices
This device has three kill switches, it claims, including audio and video (I think):
https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/#specs
Too bad they are hard to get. Maybe the major phone manufacturers will come out with kill switches.
I imagine most of the elite in this country own stock in these companies. At $1,000 a share nobody will be crying "Antitrust" from the rooftops anytime soon.
A lot of ordinary Republicans I know still think if you want to restrict businesses in any way, you're a smelly hippie, and there's no third choice. Last weekend I said something negative about Amazon and got an earful about how great it is to buy a Halloween costume and get it in two days, and if Amazon is too powerful someone just needs to out-compete them. Republicans like that aren't telling their reps to do the right thing here, and they're a big part of the GOP base, maybe still the majority.
That's starting to change, but there's a long way to go. That attitude is as ingrained in them as the one that kept Democrats I know voting for FDR for 80 years. It'll take a lot of good rhetoric to shift them off that fundamental "business=good" position.
"The real estate industry has done this mostly successfully (minus the crash of 2008 which was driven by Obama administration policy), I don't see why the tech giants can't, other than them not wanting to give up their mind control of the masses."
No, that was Clinton forcing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give out billions in sub-prime loans. And we're about to have another crash. As an example- my house appraised for $45K five years ago and appraised for $92K this year.
What is holding Republicans back?
They will get outed for their secret gay lifestyles, gambling habits, or kiddy diddling.
I witnessed first-hand how state level GOP operatives would prevent real leaders who naturally emerged from even getting a chance at funding for a run, and then produce some scumbag in a suit. They go out of their way to find that exact kind of person who gets off on fooling conservative country rubes with talk of family values and all that then goes home to bugger their underrage twink in the basement.
JG wrote:You are completely wrong. In fact, it is quite easy. Let me do it:
Google: Break apart Google Search, Google Adwords, Google Apps, YouTube, etc. Consent decree forcing Google Search to accept all ad companies with no advantage for Adwords and force them to choose between content provider/editor or neutral platform.
Facebook: Break apart Facebook the website from Facebook ads, divorce Instagram and other apps into separate companies. Consent decree to force them to choose to be content provider/editor or neutral platform.
See, not so hard.
True, but I was looking at it more from Apple. How do you force Apple apart? Can you force apart the minority player in the computer and smart phone space? Do you have to force Apple to open up its operating system to competitors? It nearly went bankrupt the last time it did that.
I think it might be very difficult to break apart companies that exist on advertising revenue. It is more that they are abusing their protected business with actions that are not protected.
"What is holding Republicans back?" - I'd say many GOP are actually Democrats (RINOs) is part of the problem. Ather is that most politicians are so busy filling their bank accounts and becoming multimillionaires that they could care less about developing any meaningful legislation.
If anything, the Trump Administration is making strange moves the other way, though how important this is I'm not quite sure.
Archive link to NY Times (b/c no clicks for cucks):
https://archive.li/MTKKv
Article title:
Justice Dept. to Abolish Movie Distribution Rules Dating to 1949
Maybe this is one of those 4D chess strategies I'm too dense to decipher, but I really don't get this. This can only help Big Hollywood force the swill they want venues to run even though such movies are rarely profitable.
Of course, it has never been an anti-trust violation to make an obscene amount of profit. There is no law against that. But when an economic entity is thought to have too much control over the marketplace, with any monopoly power, even if they have not abused consumers, suppliers, labor, or competitors, even if they do not constitute a barrier to entry of new firms, there may be an anti-trust violation.
My favorite anti-trust case (Brown Shoe v United States, 1962) really illustrates the point. Brown Shoe was a manufacturer of shoes and G. R. Kinney was a shoe retail chain. They attempted to merge the two firms through an exchange of stock. The US Supreme Court (Earl Warren) found this merger to be a violation of the Clayton Anti-trust Act, even though the two companies combined were FIVE PERCENT of the shoe business in the United States. It was found that this merger would substantially lessen competition in the shoe industry or tend to create a monopoly. Granted, Kinney was an important retailer of shoes, ranking 8th among shoe stores....selling two percent of the retail footwear in the US in 1956.
Google, Apple, Facebook, Cosco... are absolutely monopolistic, and have abused the public, and acted in restraint of trade, and have been a barrier to entry in the industry. Do they lessen competition? Do they collude with each other? Please.
a better example is the break up of Ma Bell. AT%T built all the infrastructure and caused all the innovation. but they government broke them up and forced them to share.
same thing can and should happen to apple etc...
JG wrote:Google: Break apart Google Search, Google Adwords, Google Apps, YouTube, etc. Consent decree forcing Google Search to accept all ad companies with no advantage for Adwords and force them to choose between content provider/editor or neutral platform.
You're not thinking cruelly enough: don't let them chose between being a platform or publisher — decree that, by their actions, they *ARE* publishers and have none of the protections a 'platform' does.
swiftfoxmark2 wrote:Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple are the Internet cartel. If we frame them like that, maybe we can get some traction on this.
Hm, that might work really well.
Shimshon wrote:They have already been caught colluding to rig the job market.
It's only a matter of time.
I've been saying for years that RICOing Tech would solve our "STEM crisis".
MidnightSun wrote:I imagine most of the elite in this country own stock in these companies. At $1,000 a share nobody will be crying "Antitrust" from the rooftops anytime soon.
I really don't care — I want the law applied uniformly.
Doktor Jeep wrote:I witnessed first-hand how state level GOP operatives would prevent real leaders who naturally emerged from even getting a chance at funding for a run, and then produce some scumbag in a suit. They go out of their way to find that exact kind of person who gets off on fooling conservative country rubes with talk of family values and all that then goes home to bugger their underrage twink in the basement.
Hm, sounds like my Senate run a few years back: the county Republican party backed the guy from BigCity, and wouldn't help at all with my attempts at appearing on the ballot in the primary. So, I hit the streets myself and gathered up about 1/10th the required signatures… which on one hand was really quite impressive for a single person to do.
“ Apple had the biggest earnings by far on the chart, but has far more limited influence than the others.”
Apple helps cement google’s thought monopoly, as evidenced by the lack of iOS apps for gab, bitchute, etc..
@51 re Ma Bell
That antitrust action was a mixed bag in result:
Jerry Pournelle on the loss of the old Bell Labs:
"Bell Labs was once the advanced planning department of the human race, but it was an artifact of AT&T being a regulated public utility and the far sightedness of the regulators."
https://www.jerrypournelle.com/archives2/archives2mail/mail340.html
Interestingly, he goes on to write how Walt Disney's original EPCOT concept was somewhat similar - of course did't survive his death (like many other good things).
Newscaper312 wrote:"Bell Labs was once the advanced planning department of the human race, but it was an artifact of AT&T being a regulated public utility and the far sightedness of the regulators."
Bell labs inhibited innovation. Famously, they invented transistors 40 years after they were patented.
When I think about how weak Republicans are it's hard not to feel the same contempt for them that Democrats feel, if for different reasons. Even what I would consider the better Republicans will spin a whole song and dance about the principle of the matter on this score, which is just a way to rationalize losing with as much dignity as the mainstream press will let them retain--usually not very much.
The way to sell trust-busting to congresscritters is to tell them that more competitors equals more donors and more opportunity for graft.
What's holding them back? Selective justice, AKA 'Who, whom?'
I guess converged monopolies are the one thing Conservatives can actually conserve.
What, and interfere with Satan's takeover? The resistance won't only be for monetary motives. It would be interesting to go out and closely record the facial expressions of on the street interviews with the lesser informed bluehairs and Antifa types. You pitch the joys of diversity and inclusivity that a breakup would cause. "It would bring a voice to the oppressed, wellness and harmony to communities around the world." Watch closely as the magic words bring soothing vibes to the soul, right up to the minute the demon on their shoulder whispers in their ear: "Bigots! Nazis! It will give a voice to them all!" The countenance immediately falls, the eyes narrow, as they realize what you're up to.
Q gil
Apple helps cement google’s thought monopoly, as evidenced by the lack of iOS apps for gab, bitchute, etc..
It amazes me that 20 years ago -ish the Feds went after Microsoft for not being sufficiently inviting to Netscape running on their system, but today we find ourselves in a situation where the entire smartphone ecosystem is completely controlled by two companies, and if they don't want your app on running on 'their' phones, even if both the app developer and the end-users want it to, too bad.
Coming from the desktop perspective, I don't see how the mobile people ever accepted the current situation. Nor do I see how it hasn't been addressed by the FTC or FCC or whomever. Well, aside from the large bribes/'lobbying' paid out by Apple and Google.
"What is holding Republicans back?"
I hope that's a rhetorical question because the answer seems pretty obvious. The Republican party establishment consists of fools, hacks, cowards, backstabbers, mindless warmongers and crony-capitalist stooges. Maybe if they actually cared about their voter base instead of the K Street crowd they might do something. But they don't so they won't.
That and retarded Libertarian thinking.
"The way to sell trust-busting to congresscritters is to tell them that more competitors equals more donors and more opportunity for graft."
Ahh, but Fake Money Inc. only funds a winner long enough to make graft payments, and a bigger winner pays more than a small winner. If the politicians are smart enough to recognize this....
It appears that Republican presidents govern at the Democrats' pleasure, or not at all.
What is holding Republicans back?
They're part of kleptoligarchy, just like the Democrats.
The easiest did for Apple is requiring them to allow sideloading apps, including 3rd party app stores. On my Android phone and tablet, I have app stores from Google and Amazon, as well as the FDroid open-source repository.
@16 "things women just can't do"
Like the women of the weirding way in Dune?
And still an unconstitutional move regardless of the lies of the judges (most evil of all). Point to the delegation of power that allows the feds to control companies. It's not the commerce clause. Look again the commerce clause applies ONLY to controlling other governmental process NOT individuals or corporations regardless of one's desires or the benefits. Want to reinterpret the clause, hell no. Get up and push for a proper change through amendment.
That's called Letting your alligator mouth overstep your canarybird a**.
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