Comment by ballenf | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ballenf | Hacker News Reader

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Three ways that I can think of quickly:

1. Ads cost more which raises the cost of doing business which raises the cost of goods.

2. It also makes certain borderline businesses infeasible -- there would be a whole class of businesses that don't/can't exist because they become unprofitable if you have to pay the ad monopoly/duopoly piper on top of normal expenses.

3. You could also argue that FB's continued dominance is another societal harm stemming directly from the alleged actions. If there wasn't an ad cartel, it would be easier to start new ad-based social media companies. (Wouldn't it be crazy if Google+ being neglected and then shutdown was a part of the negotiations between Google and FB?)

Lots of presumptions in the above, but I think a strong case could be made for each.

This is 100% true -> (Wouldn't it be crazy if Google+ being neglected and then shutdown was a part of the negotiations between Google and FB?)

Same for

Amazon closing down A9 search

Google buying up Affiliate Networks and closing one down and basically banning affiliate from most of Google Search and

doing @#$#$-all with Google Shopping

100% Division between

Amazon - shopping Google - search Facebook - social

with outward illusion of 'rivalry'

Bezos is 4th angel investor in Google

Qunicy Jones in an interview says he used to have a weekly dinner with

Elon Musk, Google founders, Bezos

It's Qunicy Jones so no idea how reliable. But wouldn't that be interesting - if Google and Amazon founders were doing dinner every week or every other week

Actually you just kind of convinced me of the opposite -- that there was nothing nefarious with Google+. Clearly these companies have a track record of getting out of non-core businesses where they don't have expertise and/or don't have much to gain.

Google buying up affiliate networks and shutting them down is just plain consolidation of monopoly -- not conspiracy to divide up the market like the other actions. (It still deserves antitrust scrutiny, but for wholly different reasons.)

And weekly or bi-weekly dinners? Conspirators go to great lengths to have legitimate pretenses for any meetings. Trade shows are/were notorious for where these cartels get business done because everyone has a legitimate interest to be there. You also want plausible deniability.

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