[retortio]

Monopolies are able to exist precisely because it's hard to challenge them.

That's why people saying "the free market will sort things out" with regard to free speech are deluding themselves. I'm not willing to wait 50 years for the free market to sort itself out while the ideal of free speech is torn asunder by private corporations.

[mikece]

It's actually quite easy to start a Google Ad Words competitor... it's even possible to make money. But when Google addresses the threat by offering a huge buy-out, saying "No" is very hard (and that's setting aside the question of possible investors taking the decision out of your hands).