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The Modern Monopoly – Facebook and Amazon Takeover | SPP #80

As of last year, Amazon Web Services controlled roughly 40 percent of the cloud market, running the backend for Netflix, Pinterest, Slack and dozens of other services with no visible connection to the company. – The Verge, 2018 https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/28/17622792/plugin-use-the-internet-without-the-amazon-cloud

That’s nearly half of the all servers that make up the internet. A monopoly is when a single individual or company is the sole supplier of a particular product and receives the most if not all demand for that sector. These often result in abuse and practices like predatory pricing. Existing monopolies, such as railway systems, are broadly naturally occurring but still met with opposition. Newer developments with Facebook and Amazon seem to be heading in this direction and may come across as questionable. Should they be allowed to pass go?

Image used in the thumbnail is a recreation of the original 1904 political cartoon depicting the monopoly of Standard Oil from Amazon Antitrust by On the Media. Cartoon from the Library of Congress, source links: https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/fight-antitrust
https://www.politico.com/wuerker/2012/04/matt-wuerkers-pulitzer-prize-winning-cartoons/000072-000761.html

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