How to break up monoplies like Google & Facebook

So I want to know when the anti-trust law suites are going to start for these two companies? Are we going to have to rely on Europe to do this again, as we did with Microsoft?

I can think of no more beneficial lawsuit for the American people than to have an anti-trust case against these two companies. With the way they have conducted themselves for the last 4-6+ years they have shown their true colors and it isn't in favor of freedom of speech, providing better services, and supporting open platforms and open conversation - but the exact opposite in all of those cases.

Google has changed their algorithm in the last 2-3 years to bury what used to be the top ranking results for what I am assuming sites that are more aligned with their ideology or those who have paid for ranking (and I don't mean the first 3 "paid" results). Sites that still have the same information and were ranked #1-10 for 10+ years are now buried sometimes 10-20 pages deep (that is 100-200 results deep) and those that have replaced them are often totally worthless. I'd like to see who the owners of these sites are and if there is some correlation to their owners, hosting service, domain registration, etc.

I've used the same search query for a number of topics for years to find certain sites (often b/c I would choose from many of the results from the first page) and now these pages are no where to be found unless I dig really deep. how could they have changed so much in ranking, especially when the top rated sites are terrible in comparison (both in quality of information provided and breadth/depth of information).

Also Youtube has been doing something dirty when it comes to "questionable" videos, like Pizzagate stuff, or anything related to occult, explaining racism in media/politics, and many other racially related videos (documentary/ analysis videos) - the browser locks up completely on these videos and sometimes I need to do a complete reboot of the computer. No other site does this and I use A LOT of sites - well, maybe I have had similar experiencs on Facebook as well, both companies I think are controlled by the CIA/NSA/DIA (or parts of each).

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

I get where your coming from but those companies are not monopolies though. I often search for very specific topics on Google and get results that many others claim Google won’t present to them. I even do the same on Youboob and receive video suggestions that others claim have been banned because of political reasons.
Now do these sites and search engines need a check put on them...yes they do. But again they are not a monopoly.

My business uses both systems so i'd prefer no one boycott either.

If you do not like them, why not just use another search engine and stay off facebook? Tons of other options out there...

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Good luck. Google owns much of the government.

To put this in perspective, the EU wouldn't allow Microsoft to have Internet Explorer as the DEFAULT browser on its OS *without adding it as a first-choice option to opt out.

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: DigginFoTroof

I get where your coming from but those companies are not monopolies though. I often search for very specific topics on Google and get results that many others claim Google won’t present to them. I even do the same on Youboob and receive video suggestions that others claim have been banned because of political reasons.
Now do these sites and search engines need a check put on them...yes they do. But again they are not a monopoly.

Could they be altering search algorithms based upon users, if someone is logged in under a user account or if they are not logged in at all? Like if someone has been tagged as a "conservative" might their search results (on google or YT) possibly be different than someone who hasn't been tagged as such?

Banning, shadow banning, censoring and selective enforcement of rules are very real.

The OP has a good grasp of the subject. Maybe to add that a good comparison would be if the US Mail, UPS and FedEx all refused to deliver your "package" of ideas, because they didn't like those ideas. By definition they become the Thought Police.

The best thing that would help kill YT monopoly would be a software patch that would automatically create a preview window to other host sites, instead of just like here, YT is what's supported.

To give it a historical spin, think of the not-far-off era of the Robber Barons. That group used every tool in the book to gain control over govt, media, labor, education, etc etc. In a sense, they forced an elitist ethos upon the working classes, which did not represent the best interests of the people.

It took a huge countermeasure of govt regulation, collective bargaining, and uncorrupted press to overcome the shackles of this unforgiving era. I wonder how many parallels there are now to the current admin, public opinion, whistleblowers pertaining to business-barrons of the present. Let's name a few....

originally posted by: SR1TX
My business uses both systems so i'd prefer no one boycott either.

If you do not like them, why not just use another search engine and stay off facebook? Tons of other options out there...

Oh yeah, tons of other options? Show me where else you can advertise for keywords and have about 95% of the population have access to your paid advertisements? Where else than Google can that be done?

If I was a small business and wanted to advertise for "dustless cat litter" and couldn't use Google, how much of the population would see my advertisement using other search engines? A VERY small %.

originally posted by: FlyingFox
Banning, shadow banning, censoring and selective enforcement of rules are very real.

The OP has a good grasp of the subject. Maybe to add that a good comparison would be if the US Mail, UPS and FedEx all refused to deliver your "package" of ideas, because they didn't like those ideas. By definition they become the Thought Police.

The best thing that would help kill YT monopoly would be a software patch that would automatically create a preview window to other host sites, instead of just like here, YT is what's supported.

To give it a historical spin, think of the not-far-off era of the Robber Barons. That group used every tool in the book to gain control over govt, media, labor, education, etc etc. In a sense, they forced an elitist ethos upon the working classes, which did not represent the best interests of the people.

It took a huge countermeasure of govt regulation, collective bargaining, and uncorrupted press to overcome the shackles of this unforgiving era. I wonder how many parallels there are now to the current admin, public opinion, whistleblowers pertaining to business-barrons of the present. Let's name a few....

Excellent analogies! If there was a way to access the database of YT videos outside of the YT platform, that would be a big step in showing what is being hidden either by doing it through certain people's profiles/accounts or some other means.

Problem is that neither Facebook nor Google qualifies as a monopoly so anti-trust lawsuits will not stand up in court.

I get people are pissed for what they think they are doing, but if anything can be done about them it will not be under what governs monopolies.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow:

www.youtube.com...

Enjoy the Greatest Show on Earth!

S&F

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Yes that is a possibility if you are logged in or not. I myself stay logged out on my mobile and logged in on my desktop and still receive similar results. But I am sure my Amazon account play into this a lot though.
But most likely being labeled as a “lefty” and one that loves guns and free speech I still get plenty of FOX News and other outlets just as much as I do others such as CNN and the likes.

I will say I do often get adds for gun regulation. Which I don’t have a problem with as long as it is done so properly. And please take that with a grain of salt. But that is for another thread though.

These vast companies rely on users. Of people stop using them then they stop being vast.

Choice. If you don't like Google, or Facebook then find an alternative.

Yea. It's just the same as if you don't like twitter, start your own chat site. Gab? If you don't like Paypal, start your own payment processor. Hatreon? I heard Gab is back online. I've never used those, it's just an example to show the entire tech mob is in cahoots. If you break up Google, that won't change.

I think Google must work closely with the govt. Not only do we see them getting govt contracts but also contracts from foreign nations. Who is going to be the first customer for all that data they collect about everyone on earth? All this makes them somewhat immune to normal pressures.

The best way to deal with the situation is to regulate the internet. Change how they are allowed to interact with the public. There is a conflict right now between the American free speech modal and the European modal banning various types of speech. This censorship approach seems to predominate in the world market and Google adapting to it is a cause of our problems in the US.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Great call, great thread. I will follow with interest. The people need to establish fair trading conditions, and the world needs an end to the manipulation of news & facts which the two companies are guilty of in spades. Hopefully this is something the Trump administration can run with once the mid-term situation cools down. Definitely worth writing to your congressman!

originally posted by: DigginFoTroof

originally posted by: FlyingFox
Banning, shadow banning, censoring and selective enforcement of rules are very real.

The OP has a good grasp of the subject. Maybe to add that a good comparison would be if the US Mail, UPS and FedEx all refused to deliver your "package" of ideas, because they didn't like those ideas. By definition they become the Thought Police.

The best thing that would help kill YT monopoly would be a software patch that would automatically create a preview window to other host sites, instead of just like here, YT is what's supported.

To give it a historical spin, think of the not-far-off era of the Robber Barons. That group used every tool in the book to gain control over govt, media, labor, education, etc etc. In a sense, they forced an elitist ethos upon the working classes, which did not represent the best interests of the people.

It took a huge countermeasure of govt regulation, collective bargaining, and uncorrupted press to overcome the shackles of this unforgiving era. I wonder how many parallels there are now to the current admin, public opinion, whistleblowers pertaining to business-barrons of the present. Let's name a few....

Excellent analogies! If there was a way to access the database of YT videos outside of the YT platform, that would be a big step in showing what is being hidden either by doing it through certain people's profiles/accounts or some other means.

Can't you do a site search of YT using some other search engine, say Duck Duck Go? I don't know, I've never tried it. It seems like you should be able to do that. If a video is in limited state, does it block other search engine's indexing robots?