The Antitrust Subcommittee of the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives of the U.S. House of Representatives released an investigation report on how to reform the law to adapt to the digital age, claiming that Facebook, Amazon, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Apple have “monopoly suspicions” and recommending relevant companies to make major adjustments .
Regarding Facebook, the report concluded: “Facebook’s monopoly power is deeply ingrained and is unlikely to be eroded by new entrants or the competitive pressures of existing companies.” Facebook’s monopoly is deeply rooted due to its strong network effect, The user’s high switching costs and the company’s significant data advantages.
The report pointed out that Facebookstrengthens its monopoly by identifying competitors that may pose a threat to it , acquiring, copying or stifling them. One example is the exchange in 2012 between Zuckerberg and his then CFO about the acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion.
According to the report, Zuckerberg said at the time: “What we really buy is time. Even if some new competitors appear, buying Instagram now will give us a year or more, before anyone can approach them again (Instagram ) Before the scale, to integrate their dynamics.”
The report also mentioned that in the negotiation process of this transaction, Zuckerberg once told Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom (Kevin Systrom): “Refusing to establish a partnership with Facebook, including acquisitions, will Have an impact on Instagram.”
According to this report, Zuckerberg made similar comments on WhatsApp’s growth on Facebook and the product team because WhatsApp poses a threat to Facebook’s messenger service. In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion.
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