General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat is your opinion about breaking up huge monopolies like Facebook and Amazon?
Are they unhealthy for capitalism? Do they stifle competition?
Elizabeth Warren has mentioned such a thing but I have not heard any details from her?
The last time I recall breaking up a huge company was with Ma Bell in the 1970's (I believe?) into Baby Bells. It didn't seem to last very long? At&T was back in the saddle in short order.
Is this a time that needs a Teddy Roosevelt, a trust buster?
Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)edhopper
(33,168 posts)but we need strong regulation of such entities. For Facebook, no data on it's users, and divestment of the other platforms like Instagram.. For Amazon, better protection of it's workers.
Kaiserguy
(740 posts)We need strong regulations to help overcome the greed of big business.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)How much power do each have in their respective markets?
canetoad
(17,088 posts)I think Google/Alphabet is the true tech monopoly. Do you remember Brin and Page spruiking their 'Don't be evil' mantra when they first launched Google?
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)Red Mountain
(1,704 posts)Break up and regulate. They have WAY too much power in our society.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)This should be done.
nycbos
(6,033 posts)Though won't our antitrust laws need to be rewritten for that to happen?
I am guessing most of them were written in the pre-internet era and the law often is way behind the technology.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,146 posts)fairly easily? These seem to me to have been old-fashioned anti-competitive moves. Force them to demerge into independent companies.
nycbos
(6,033 posts)I am not a lawyer so I don't know.
I think that one of Facebook's co-founders suggested that.
hunter
(38,264 posts)They seem to have the greatest influence on DU.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)When they can control a Metro area with the only Cable or Internet available,gee what could go wrong with that. And ownership of a National News operation as well as having interconnecting boards of directors with a major transportation as well as Power Company,gee what can go wrong with that.
bamagal62
(3,218 posts)If there was some sort of competition for Facebook, maybe we wouldn't have so many problems. But, there's no alternative.
With Amazon, you can always go around it and go to the source.
Captain Stern
(2,195 posts)Google has attempted facebook-like service several times.
The latest attempt was Google+. It failed.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and numerous others got as large as they are through acquisitions of other, smaller, companies. All that accomplishes is control. The end user gains very little. These mergers and acquisitions should be stopped up front. If these companies want to get into these lines of business, let them compete, not eliminate the competition before it ever starts.
Qutzupalotl
(14,230 posts)If we take two proposed actions trustbusting and seizing wealth from millionaires and billionaires that will prove to a certain segment that we are punishing success. Thats THEIR framing we will need our own, such as: were leveling the playing field, allowing small businesses to compete, trying to restore the vast disparity of wealth to something more normal, etc.
People dont realize how large monopolies are screwing them with higher costs and fewer choices. We should point that out as we advocate our solutions.
scarletlib
(3,400 posts)jimfields33
(15,450 posts)Amazon could be broken into five parts I suppose, but Facebook? How?
Squinch
(50,773 posts)patricia92243
(12,590 posts)Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)Those business areas have nothing to do with each other.
nsd
(2,406 posts)... the same company. Amazon would get no competitive advantage over, say, Azure or Google Cloud, by having a marketplace too.
Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)But if you were going to do it, that's where you'd do it with the least damage to consumers.
Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)TheFarseer
(9,308 posts)But break up Amazon - HELL YES!
rockfordfile
(8,682 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,207 posts)Esso, Sun, Atlantic, Mobil, and so forth?
Those came about when Republican Teddy Roosevelt broke up Standard Oil.
Now, Exxon is back with Mobil and you get to pay the same price for gas from these major companies.
pecosbob
(7,502 posts)Bust the trusts.
PBC_Democrat
(401 posts)Let's talk about Amazon first:
Can you buy stuff online without using Amazon?
I can buy from Walmart, Target, or hundreds of other sites.
Amazon's innovations have forced other retailers to step up their game.
If people shop at Amazon, they do it because Amazon offers the best prices and/or the best service.
If someone comes along and offers a better product/service - people will flock to it.
Remember when Sears dominated, then K-Mart, then Walmart.
Facebook - Did anyone force you to establish a Facebook account?
Were you required to provide personal data?
Social platforms come and go - remember 4Square, then MySpace?
Young people are fading from Facebook because they don't want to be on the same platform as Grandma and Grandpa.
Somewhere in the world some nerdy teenagers are building the next Social platform.
Facebook will fade just as 4Square and MySpace did.
2naSalit
(86,039 posts)IIRC,
Senator Warren has a plan for that.
gopiscrap
(23,673 posts)ret5hd
(20,433 posts)MyNameGoesHere
(7,638 posts)2 million or so sellers broke up and in jail hopefully.
PufPuf23
(8,687 posts)Calista241
(5,584 posts)Or do you just want to put them out of business?
Hekate
(90,189 posts)marlakay
(11,370 posts)Would regulate them and make sure they pay their fair share of taxes, treat employees well, and dont promote lies.
Xolodno
(6,330 posts)They are monopolies, but breaking them up may not exactly be feasible. So they they need to be heavily regulated until if/when the market makes sense to have competitors.
meadowlander
(4,358 posts)For example, LinkedIn is quite similar and so is Twitter and aspects of YouTube. They should be regulated as a media company but not broken up.
I can see forcing Apple to split up the parts of its business that sell hardware, versus iTunes, versus the App Store. They shouldn't be able to lock people who have purchased their hardware out of being able to buy media or apps from other companies.
Likewise, Amazon shouldn't be able to offer a streaming service and create content which they give priority promotion to and undercut brick and mortar stores and force content creators to accept lower and lower margins (for example, forcing a business model on authors where they only get paid by the number of pages a reader consumes before closing the book).
That's monopolistic behaviour. It's not enough that they're just big.
LiberalFighter
(50,477 posts)Bettie
(15,997 posts)but they stopped being enforced during the Reagan years.
We need to enforce them, but the very rich won't allow that. Ever.