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Comment by judge2020 | Hacker News Reader

judge2020

This could all be solved by breaking 'web & app activity' up into more granular permissions.

We can also try to break up Google into something more granular and see if it helps.

I'm always amused by calls for the breakup of the "unbearable monopoly" of Google, when it is itself the epitome of the Silicon Valley "monopolies need disrupting!" business model.

Got a better idea? I'd like to see them bankrupt and all their data being wiped, but I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. Breaking them up is the only option we realistically have as of right now.

I think we should simply pass laws to make their business model illegal (at least the evil parts), and let them sort it out.

If they go under because they can’t adapt, well tough luck. There will be tons of smart businesses, investors, and individuals eager to chase all the new opportunities the death of Google would create.

And since the evil business models are illegal, the ones that come next will (probably) not be evil like Google was. And if they are, more regulations!

the dinosaurs ruled the earth for quite a long time, while mammals were squelched into a weasel-rodent protomammal skulking in the dark. after the extinction level event the mammals emerged from thier bunkers previously hidden from the purview of the dinosaurs. A new hope was born, the mammals were relieved of pressure and wandered the earth, and the day and diversified, then bought a penthouse in manhattan and took a job as a day trader investing in a large advertizing corporation,,,, [dejavoux]

Exactly which parts of their business model should be illegal? It's pretty standard Silicon Valley stuff - give away your product until there is no competition left, then you can do what you like.

> Exactly which parts of their business model should be illegal?

For starters, this part:

> give away your product until there is no competition left, then you can do what you like.

The free market doesn't work without competition, and that's a blatantly anti-competitive practice. Just because a lot of SV companies do it, doesn't mean it's right.

But really I was referring to their data collection practices, and doing things like intentionally making it difficult for users to find privacy controls. No matter which way you look at it, that's harmful to consumers.

Stop buying their product - ie, advertising.

Except SV investors actively avoid competition with the monopolies. They will try and disrupt for sure, but there’s a dead zone around monopolies.

Uber, Lyft, Air BnB, Paypal, etc etc, would beg to differ.

Uber and Lyft tackled local monopolies, sure, but not national or international ones. They also took a strategy of actively flaunting and breaking of laws in their growth. Not sure that’s a good form of disruption.

What monopoly did AirBnB tackle?

I’m guessing you’re suggesting PayPal went after Western Union? There are plenty of ways to exchange money though.

Would my point be better if I clarified the monopolies? Perhaps if we focus on national monopolies?

What VC money is going to challenge Facebook, Amazon or Google, or any area close to them?

https://financialpost.com/technology/inside-the-kill-zone-bi...

Disabling WAA isn't enough. Google is still able to capture precise location information

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2f1EcuWQAQYD8R?format=png

And "breaking up toggles" was one strategy Google used to get people to share their location info

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