Can someone explain to me how any of these companies could ever be considered monopolies?
Competitive products are available at the same or lower costs and widely so.
Competitive products are available at the same or lower costs and widely so.
Now replace "railroad" with "search engine" and "soap company" with "reviews" and you have the same situation with Google vs. Yelp or Google Shopping or Google Maps.
Essentially you're just stifling competition at this point and preventing the market from choosing products.