09-06-2019, 03:51 PM
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49611947
Facebook is under investigation in the US to determine whether it has "stifled competition and put users at risk".
The new action was announced by New York state Attorney General Letitia James on behalf of a coalition of representatives from several states.
"Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers," said Ms James.
Facebook said people had "multiple choices" when it came to using online services.
"We understand that if we stop innovating, people can easily leave our platform. This underscores the competition we face, not only in the United States but around the globe," said Will Castleberry, Facebook's vice president for state and local policy.
Well, I think it's fair to say that Facebook has an entrenched monopoly. There isn't really a direct alternative: all the other social networking services are either owned by Facebook (e.g. WhatsApp, Instagram); aren't really the same sort of thing (e.g. Twitter, Snapchat); or are too small to be useful (e.g. all the other Facebook clones that nobody cares about).
Given how big they've grown and how much they do, it's hard to imagine that a comprehensive anti-trust investigation won't turn up something. However, I have a bad feeling that, even if anything major is found, they'll come away from it with a slap on the wrist that doesn't really hurt them...
Facebook is under investigation in the US to determine whether it has "stifled competition and put users at risk".
The new action was announced by New York state Attorney General Letitia James on behalf of a coalition of representatives from several states.
"Even the largest social media platform in the world must follow the law and respect consumers," said Ms James.
Facebook said people had "multiple choices" when it came to using online services.
"We understand that if we stop innovating, people can easily leave our platform. This underscores the competition we face, not only in the United States but around the globe," said Will Castleberry, Facebook's vice president for state and local policy.
Well, I think it's fair to say that Facebook has an entrenched monopoly. There isn't really a direct alternative: all the other social networking services are either owned by Facebook (e.g. WhatsApp, Instagram); aren't really the same sort of thing (e.g. Twitter, Snapchat); or are too small to be useful (e.g. all the other Facebook clones that nobody cares about).
Given how big they've grown and how much they do, it's hard to imagine that a comprehensive anti-trust investigation won't turn up something. However, I have a bad feeling that, even if anything major is found, they'll come away from it with a slap on the wrist that doesn't really hurt them...
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