The big tech companies have been on the receiving end of a wave of criticism from all corners, much of it relating to their size and market power. Antitrust suits are being filed and lawmakers are holding hearings.
Now we have a bi-partisan group in the House, of all places, introducing a package of bills that would beef up antitrust laws that would impact companies such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google:
Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google could be forced to overhaul their business practices under an expansive set of antitrust reforms introduced by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Friday.
The package of five bills, draft versions of which were reported by CNBC and other outlets, would make it harder for dominant platforms to complete mergers and prohibit them from owning businesses that present clear conflicts of interest. The legislation represents the most comprehensive effort to reform century-old antitrust laws in decades.
The pressure is mounting and it will be interesting to see the details.
Here’s a great video on how schools and teachers are using crowdfunding to fund things like equipment and other projects that helps schools and students.
Twitter is introducing a new program that will enable users to monetize videos they post on Twitter. The program is quite attractive with a 70/30 revenue split in favor if the user, and the program is also non-exclusive. This will provide real incentives for celebrities and others with large Twitter followings to use Twitter for their videos along with YouTube and other platforms. Maybe the Twitter brass is finally figuring out how to monetize their users.
Microsoft’s massive acquisition of LinkedIn offers some interesting opportunities. Below Reid Hoffman discusses the potential synergies, including real integration with Microsoft Office.
But there’s also real potential to overreach and create real problems as well. LinkedIn has stagnated a little in recent years, and perhaps this will inject new life into the platform. It’s certainly a must-use platform for many professionals and recruiters.
Give Mark Zuckerberg credit – he realized Facebook was behind when it came to mobile and he forced his company to adapt quickly. It’s reminiscent of Bill Gates coming to terms with the web back in the 90s.
