re: BOOM! Executive Order draft opens door to antitrust probe of Google, FB, Twit, others

Love Trump

HATE executive orders

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Google controls it, ad revenue , access , everything. No competition is possible. They regularly crush companies that threaten their revenue partners . They make entry into the marketplace impossible because the are the gatekeeper. They actively crush “ competition “. So while philosophically I tend to agree with You, I would add that Google specially is so monopolistic that they harm the free market place.

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Thank you. This is the first attempt and one I agree with.

If Google is so large as to make competition impossible across multiple platforms then perhaps it warrants an investigation.

However, Google is much much more than a social media platform.

My questions was more specifically how anyone can think Facebook and Twitter are so important they need federal government oversight.

If we need the federal government to save us from our own stupidity and we demand the federal government regulate a few businesses because of their advertising tactics and because we cannot fathom just stopping use of those wholly unnecessary businesses then we are too far gone anyway and we deserve the repercussions that comes with that request.

Society can just stop using Facebook and Twitter. Or they can freely choose to keep using those sites and all of the censorship and targeted advertising that comes with it. That is a free market choice and one the government should not be involved in..

If you do not like Facebook, quit using. Do not demand that the government change it to suit you.

It's not a surprise seeing so many "conservatives" support this.

Pathetic.

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If we need the federal government to save us from our own stupidity and we demand the federal government regulate a few businesses because of their advertising tactics and because we cannot fathom just stopping use of those wholly unnecessary businesses then we are too far gone anyway and we deserve the repercussions that comes with that request

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Just think about the regulations on tobacco companies when reading your own words and the true state of where we are in terms of govt oversite becomes clear. We are past the point of no return and it has been that way for nearly a century.

just because you don't understand the value of certain platforms which has zero bearing on if those platforms are violating rights of conservatives. Like thanks for your opinion.

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I am of the full and complete conviction that if tomorrow Facebook and Twitter suddenly ceased to exist almost no one's life would change in any meaningful way. I would like someone to explain to me what is so important about social media. In my opinion it is just a giant time wasting echo chamber or narcissism and nonsense.

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Well that’s just nonsense. I think Facebooks estimated global economic impact is in the hundreds of billions. You underestimate how many people’s jobs, livelihoods, businesses, etc are wrapped up in these things. They are in the broadcast business as well, opening a new set of regulations.

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Why are we celebrating more regulation of industry?

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I agree with the sentiment, but this hardly fits the classical definition of “regulation of industry” that any of us are familiar with and against. It’s far more complicated than the average antitrust / monopoly issue.

- Google holds something like 98% of online search engine queries
- Google also holds about a 50% market share in the cell phone / mobile operating system universe and thus the google play store
- Google goes out of their way to silence political opposition through censoring search engine queries
- Google goes out of their way to remove competing apps from the google play store, and occasionally removes some that host political opinion they oppose
- Google is a private company in a capitalist country / society
- HOWEVER, google effectively silences any competition to their search engine and social media platforms through use of their stranglehold on the market share, which does not allow competing services a chance to correct and create a true fair and free market
- Google is not *technically* a monopoly, as other forms of their services DO exist freely; but they have the power to essentially operate like a monopoly (it’s worth noting that the current laws against monopolies are in place to prevent what google is doing - effectively shutting down the free market)
- Once again, Google operates in a capitalistic country and society; what happens when the US decides to create laws regulating them in any way and they simply relocate their HQ to a different country?
- What happens in the future when society is ultra-reliant on the internet in every facet of life, and google / apple (who have shown the willingness to sway public opinion in their political direction) own a majority of the info we see all day every day - because they quelled the competition for years?

These are just the very basics laid out in the simplest form I could, and even that makes it clear how complicated the issue is. The fear is that Apple and ABC will own literally everything of importance 20 years from now when our entire business and personal existence revolves around the internet, making them much more influential and dangerous than just having a market monopoly.

That’s why I like Trump’s approach right now, basically opening a line of research into the issue to learn more so he can make an informed decision on something that has no precedent YET, but will for a long time to come. I think there will eventually be internet-specific antitrust laws and essentially an internet bill of rights that have to be created as the world becomes more and more internet reliant.

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RazorBroncs

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Very wise post.

This guy gets it.

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I would love for someone to rationally explain to me how Facebook is important enough to demand federal government involvement in its operations. 

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Not only does fb greatly impact elections. It also helps other countries create social unrest in America. Russia spread and endorsed anti trump propaganda that led to 30k Democrats taking to the streets and physically attacking women, children and elderly.