Google, Facebook, and Amazon benefit from an outdated definition of “monopoly”
Look no further than the dozens of examples of major tech companies essentially &quot;dumping&quot; product to kill up and coming startups.<p>Diapers.com was the ultimate example of this [1]<p><i>Soon after, Quidsi noticed Amazon dropping prices up to 30 percent on diapers and other baby products. As an experiment, Quidsi executives manipulated their prices and then watched as Amazon’s website changed its prices accordingly. Amazon’s pricing bots—software that carefully monitors other companies’ prices and adjusts Amazon’s to match—were tracking Diapers.com.</i><p>This is unambiguously Amazon using their Market power to stifle competition.<p>Now, you might say something like - yea that&#x27;s just competition, or to the victor go the spoils. However that&#x27;s the whole point of this kind of advocacy - to prevent companies from taking significant market power and spreading out the competitive landscape. The language may not perfectly fit between &quot;monopoly&quot; or otherwise, but the end result is the same: Small players can&#x27;t compete. Best thing you can hope for is an acquisition.<p>This is especially bad in technology, where information advantages grow with the scope of the company.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;slate.com&#x2F;technology&#x2F;2013&#x2F;10&#x2F;amazon-book-how-jeff-bezos-went-thermonuclear-on-diapers-com.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;slate.com&#x2F;technology&#x2F;2013&#x2F;10&#x2F;amazon-book-how-jeff-be...</a>