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Antitrust would help, maybe even a lot, but would the world be that different if Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp were independent companies? Things might be a bit better but we'd still be stuck with the same handful of platforms we already have. Facebook is just the final form of the monster that silicon valley continually creates. Every unicorn software startup has the same strategy: create a competitive app, get VC backing, blitzscale until you are dominant, then abuse your power to monetize the platform. The only difference is how far along a market is in the cycle. Desktop operating systems went through this in the 1990s, eCommerce went through this in the 2000s, smartphone operating systems went through this in the late 2000s, social media went through this in the 2010s, ridesharing is going through it now, autonomous vehicles will go through it soon, and AI platforms will go through it when they arrive. It's the same story everywhere you look and the process begins at the startup stage. Attacking companies that reach the end of the cycle won't stop the cycle from happening. I would love to see Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Google broken up. I would cheer it. But it won't save us. It will only change who owns the leash we're controlled by. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't care whether I'm being controlled by a millionaire, a billionaire, or a trillionaire. I just care that I'm being controlled. The only way to escape is to own digital infrastructure that you rely on and that possibility only exists with free and open source software. |
I think it would.
If YouTube were independent, Google would have to try to invent it and then compete against YouTube. Or, perhaps, YouTube would be simply unsustainable without the infinite coffers of Google to support it. At which point we might get a smattering of paid video services that were actually viable.
If a business couldn't automatically get sold to a FAANG, you might actually have to make decisions to run it rather than lottery out. If you are running the business, you might actually eclipse one of the established companies.
Google is not in some inherently unassailable position.
Google has a TERRIBLE customer service record and pisses people off immensely. Google Cloud could be completely displaced by a competitor--if it weren't backed up by Google's immense amount of cash from other divisions. Gmail is a commodity and could certainly be displaced if it had to operate independently. etc.
> The only way to escape is to own digital infrastructure that you rely on and that possibility only exists with free and open source software.
While I agree, if we don't get the common people on board, the end result will be service too expensive for most of us (current example: running fiber to your house).