Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

So here's an out-of-left-field question. Given what we've been saying for a while, that a Facebook user is not the customer but the product, then how would you ever prove Facebook was a monopoly the way we think of it? Is social media a "market" if no money is changing hands? The market Facebook is actually in is advertising, so you would have to prove they have a monopoly on the online social advertising market, wouldn't you? And the customers you'd be protecting would be advertisers.

And what did they accomplish by buying Instagram and WhatsApp? Well, they acquired more, not customers, but raw materials, to sell. Seems like anti-trust is the wrong way to go about it.



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: