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United States Justice Department Launching Antitrust Review of Major Tech Companies
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There is corruption in every industry. Take a number -- it's going to be a long wait.
The government should also investigate Comcast, ATT, Verizon, Spectrum, etc. lots of giant conglomerates that are only getting bigger. Some of those should have been prevented before various mergers.
Wow, seriously? Many could say the same in the opposite direction.
All of these companies including Apple have been involved in serious censorship lately. It is directly related to anti-competitive business practices. These companies have been banning and restricting access to their platforms by individuals and companies that they view as a threat to the control of their own distribution of information. They have been taking advantage of U.S. laws that benefit their own corporate interests while disregarding laws that they don't view as beneficial.
All of them have been strongly influenced by the interests of overseas companies and governments which puts national interests including the U.S. national security at risk. These are companies that had the full support of the U.S. free market system and U.S. trade laws but they have now become global corporations that do not seem to be fully supporting the free market principles of trade that made them the massively wealthy and powerful companies they now are.
in recent years many of them have been fined by the EU and countries for various reasons including privacy concerns. It's stunningly stupid that they didn't know if they didn't change course that it was just a matter of time before they came under stronger scrutiny by the U.S. government. It's too late for them now. Their gig is up.
All of them have been strongly influenced by the interests of overseas companies and governments which puts national interests including the U.S. national security at risk. These are companies that had the full support of the U.S. free market system and U.S. trade laws but they have now become global corporations that do not seem to be fully supporting the free market principles of trade that made them the massively wealthy and powerful companies they now are.
in recent years many of them have been fined by the EU and countries for various reasons including privacy concerns. It's stunningly stupid that they didn't know if they didn't change course that it was just a matter of time before they came under stronger scrutiny by the U.S. government. It's too late for them now. Their gig is up.
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What is Retail, Alex?
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Oh, they'll just buy you up. *chuckle* Would you turn down a cash-out? If no, it'll only be a matter of time before they build their own version of your product, but "better".
It’s almost as if the capitalist class in charge of both corporations AND the government have a vested interest is the status quo and the accumulation of power.
That would not be Free Market Capitalism then would it? That would be Crony Capitalism where government and corporate interests work together to maintain power and influence. Historically that was what fascism, national socialism and totalitarianism was all about... an all powerful centralized government that worked together with and controlled corporate interests and... individual human rights, freedoms and liberties were stripped for the greater interest of the collective corporate state... look at Italy and Germany during WWII. People voted those governments into power.
It's where democracies traditionally have failed and led to socialist and totalitarian states and it's why the U.S. is not supposed to be a democracy... It was founded as a Constitutional Republic with democratically elected representatives. In our Constitutional Republic a democratic majority is not supposed to be able to vote away an individual's constitutional rights... Otherwise as noted as far back by Ancient Greeks who basically invented the modern democratic government... 51 percent majority of the population could literally just vote to the steal wealth from or enslave the other 49 percent minority... and in the early days of some of those ancient Greek democratic states they actually did just that.
In modern democracies and weakened representative democracies people vote their freedoms away and give away their individual rights and freedoms like those designated in the U.S. Constitution... for some illusion of security and benefits provided by their government. In the end it always fails horrifically... look recently at Venezuela.
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Apple does not dominate the App Store. The App Store is populated by apps NOT designed by Apple. Developers can charge whatever they want for their apps. They can also choose wether to share that with Apple or not.
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Nope. You probably haven’t noticed.... but the GOP hasn’t been conservative for the last 30 years.
Do it if you can. I'm posting as much as I can of my own experience here to 'inform'.
I think some people are conflating two entirely different issues / controversies regarding "big tech". One issue is whether there is anti-trust (monopolistic / anti-competitive) activity going on and that is what this story seems to be focused on. With Google controlling such a huge percentage of all Internet searches and Amazon controlling so much of online shopping, are they close enough to a monopoly that the Federal government needs to intervene on behalf of consumers? I am not expressing an opinion, just stating that is one set of issues.
The second set of issues has more to do with free speech / censorship. I agree that private companies have the right to set their own guidelines. HOWEVER, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (owned by Google) can't have it both ways. If they are "platforms" for the free exchange of ideas, one set of existing laws apply which protects them from certain legal liability because they are not "publishers" who exercise editorial control over content. Therefore, if I post a YouTube video which defames someone, I can be sued but YouTube can't because they are just the platform and I was the one allegedly doing the defaming. However, because YouTube has decided certain legal content violates their somewhat vague "community standards" and they have demonetized and/or removed content, an argument can be made that they have crossed the line from "platform" to "publisher". Publishers can (and frequently are) sued by people claiming defamation. I believe this second set of issues needs to be investigated so Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and all their content creators / consumers know which set of rules apply. The just announced DOJ probe doesn't appear to be addressing this issue.
I don't really see Apple being at much risk on either issue. Apple isn't a big player in social media so I don't think the free speech issue is a concern for them and I really don't expect the DOJ will give them much trouble over the way they control the iOS app store.
The second set of issues has more to do with free speech / censorship. I agree that private companies have the right to set their own guidelines. HOWEVER, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (owned by Google) can't have it both ways. If they are "platforms" for the free exchange of ideas, one set of existing laws apply which protects them from certain legal liability because they are not "publishers" who exercise editorial control over content. Therefore, if I post a YouTube video which defames someone, I can be sued but YouTube can't because they are just the platform and I was the one allegedly doing the defaming. However, because YouTube has decided certain legal content violates their somewhat vague "community standards" and they have demonetized and/or removed content, an argument can be made that they have crossed the line from "platform" to "publisher". Publishers can (and frequently are) sued by people claiming defamation. I believe this second set of issues needs to be investigated so Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and all their content creators / consumers know which set of rules apply. The just announced DOJ probe doesn't appear to be addressing this issue.
I don't really see Apple being at much risk on either issue. Apple isn't a big player in social media so I don't think the free speech issue is a concern for them and I really don't expect the DOJ will give them much trouble over the way they control the iOS app store.
Venezuela, and also the UK - where the people voted to exit the EU, but the all powerful UK parliament is not allowing brexit. Republics protect the people because the people have the unalienable rights, NOT government, or the "monarch's" government.
But now we have a problem in the USA because the government and both political parties have been subordinated by the new "Tech Mafia", and its controlling oligarchies. See:
Apple Reportedly Considering Moving Up to 30% of Production Out of China to Diversify Supply Chain
In a "global technocracy" physical geographical borders don't define those who are under influence and control. That's why many global corporations and globalist governing bodies don't want to be restricted by laws defined within geographical locations or nation states. They want to have total global control with universal rules that are defined by them and their technological influence and not by a free people under a national Constitutional law and regionally elected government representatives.
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And Microsoft tech runs the government...Because everyone doing the audit is still running XP.
It's like saying Target dominates over Walmart within Target stores.
It doesn't matter what hagjohn believes. hagjohn isn't in charge of the DoJ.
On the other hand, Trump constantly watches Fox News and believes what they say. Trump also has significant influence at the DoJ. If he doesn't like what the U.S. Attorney General is doing, he can fire him like he did with Jeff Sessions and then find a new U.S. Attorney General who will do what he wants.
An investigation into big oil or big local broadcasting companies would be harmful to conservatives.
The people who run big oil tend to lean right.
Sinclair Broadcast Group owns the most local broadcast tv stations and pushes right-leaning news stories.
-> https://www.salon.com/2018/04/14/ho...al-news-and-pushing-the-country-to-the-right/
How Sinclair is taking over local news and pushing the country to the right
Sinclair is positioning themselves to have massive influence in politics
-> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...vative-local-news-giant-with-a-growing-reach/
The company is the largest owner of local television stations in the country, with 173 stations in 81 broadcast markets that stretch from coast to coast and just about everywhere in between, at a time when local news outpaces national news outlets both in overall viewership and trust. About 85 percent of Americans trust local news outlets, more than the 77 percent for family or friends, according to the Pew Research Center.
Why would Trump want a DoJ investigation that would be harmful to their party and supporters?
Yeah, Apple dominates the retail market .... they ONLY sell Apple computers and devices in their Apple Stores! What chutzpah! /s
Apple removed Infowars app and Alex Jones podcast from their store.
https://www.cultofmac.com/567935/apple-removes-infowars-and-alex-jones-podcasts/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...s-app-app-store-following-twitter/1240003002/
Trump and conservatives were not too happy about that.
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