[analog31]

That's what I'm trying to wrap my head around. Facebook and Google have value because they have gained monopoly power in markets that they created themselves. The need for unlimited personal data and targeted advertising didn't even exist until they came along. Now they have become so integral to everyday life, that access to them is being framed as an entitlement.

How do you manage a utility that tends towards monopoly, but that is also recognized as an entitlement? The answer is to create a state-run monopoly. What does the Ma Bell for advertising even look like?

Could the Europeans have attracted those monopolies to their shores? What did they do wrong?

[SllX]

First movers tend to have an advantage. That’s rarely permanent so getting concerned and trying to preemptively regulate is just bound to create more problems than it solves.

If Facebook/Google went away from Europe tomorrow, Europe would adapt around their absence just as they adapted to their presence, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt and hurt actual people. You don’t need state monopolies, you just need to let hungry entrepreneurs continue to look for opportunities just as Facebook and Google did at one point in their existence and exploit those opportunities.

[analog31]

Indeed, and I think that a basic safety net can smooth out the roughest of rough edges. There's no reason why a person needs to starve if their platform vanishes.

[SllX]

To be fair, it’s not likely their platform will vanish overnight as long as Google and Facebook are making money in Europe unless the EU really does drive them out. Market shifts can be fast but there’s at least usually some leading indicators when a small business might no longer be viable.