Tech Monopolies: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@danadomino]

Back in 2018 when John Oliver did the episode on Corporate Consolidation it inspired me so much that I applied for a Masters of Research program, got into a program, and did my entire research thesis on tech oligopolies. It was shocking to see how bad it really is; oligopolies that bordered in monopolies are rampant. My research essentially focused on the question of whether lack of enforcement of our antitrust laws caused this whole problem or whether lack of adequate laws were the core of the issue. The answer was that it was truly both. I thoroughly enjoyed my pre-doctoral masters thesis and am considering a PhD in the future. It's so lovely to see John talk about this, specifically on the tech sector! Edit: Wow! Thanks everyone for the great comments! I haven't published it yet, otherwise I would share it with all you lovely people ❤ I am now looking for a policy or qualitative research/analyst job so if anyone is hiring, let me know 😅

[@kelltoran6658]

Did you ever publish your research? I would love to read it.

[@foobar8894]

Welcome to a new feudal system. And since the ruling class profits as much as the tech companies do, don't expect anything to change any time soon. Privacy is dead, independent journalism is nearly dead, the free market is dead, soon democracy will be dead.

[@RevShifty]

@@kelltoran6658 Same.

[@cyborgsharkmonkfish6512]

This was a useful comment

[@mariyamwaniki]

You go girl, get that education. Smart Cookie

[@jamesroberts3013]

I remember working at a local game store, and making it a point of pride whenever I convinced a customer to buy from us and not amazon. One time someone came in to buy Catan, and they said, “well, I ordered it already on Amazon, but I really want to play it tonight.” I reminded them they could cancel the order, and they did in a heartbeat. That felt very, very good.

[@geoshi8378]

I've been avoiding purchasing through Amazon entirely and have used Google (lol) to find local stores where I can buy what I need. Gets me to explore new areas of my city and meet new people, and feels good to be directly supporting people in my area.

[@jamesroberts3013]

@@geoshi8378 That's the thing, we were expecting Covid to be the thing that killed the shop, but so many people in the community flocked to the shop to support the community. It feels weird to be in a sort of ethics-based economy.

[@mayorofbagtown9097]

I wish this was an option for me but every game store in central Texas (Austin area) price their stock way over what it should be. Wii remotes are 50 bucks, a nintendo DS is 70 bucks, Gamecube games are all at least 20 bucks over what they are on Ebay, and it goes on. There are no reasonably priced game stores around me at all. On top of that, they try to rip you off big time with trade-in values. edit: just realised you were talking about a board game shop lol.

[@ILuvAyeAye]

I just... Hate stores. So much. I hate them. I live in a busy city, in a busy area, I don't have a car so I can't go to other places, and I have trouble just tolerating my grocery store. This isn't new to the Internet - my parents always hated shopping too. I think we have some combination of sensory issues + ADD that can make stores really overwhelming. I buy things in person sometimes, but I almost always researched the item online first. I just can't make those decisions with someone staring at me asking me questions. I guess if I was born in a pre-Internet time, I would shop in person a little more, and simply own less shit. My pocketbook would probably thank me.

[@Diphenhydra]

Also, just the fact that if I go to a store I can physically see the item is enough for me to prefer that. Even if it is Walmart sometimes. I will always try to purchase things in person when I can, obviously there are times I have to use amazon because at least it’s a somewhat reliable marketplace with a customer service.

[@CptApplestrudl]

Whenever someone tells you "the market will regulate itself", be sure it wont. Not if the companies at the top can prevent it.

[@HitMarkersAreFun]

yes it will regulate itself, just not in ways that most people want it to - i agree with what you mean, it sucks balls

[@somedragonbastard]

Oh, it'll regulate itself, just to make everyone at the top richer at everyone else's expense

[@jinxsoderling1399]

it never did and never will

[@stevenm732]

It’ll regulate itself. By not regulating itself

[@johntodd6413]

Honestly with all the examples I see of people fixing markets to win, the idea was always a fantasy or a lie. It always starts with good intentions, then the biggest players complain, and before you know it anyone starting out is fighting to succeed while the people who tried a bit early on get to ride it out on seniority alone.

[@isaacbarry2520]

For those keeping track- both the bills mentioned in the episode are dead in the water so far, with a handful of co-sponsors each

[@thealternative9580]

Of course they are. Government doesn't work for us.

[@sanderbakker2126]

Unfortunately that was to be expected. Thank you for this update

[@yaskygaming]

Literally was coming to ask this, since I checked the post date and it's been a while. Thanks for sharing.

[@giltsholder]

Hopefully the EU does something about it then.

[@nospam3327]

Well, fwiw, Oliver's prophecy of Democrats getting slaughtered in the midterms proved false

[@BBoPPo88]

Whenever we get people young enough to actually understand the internet, these giant tech companies might be broken up but as long as we have 90 year old senators asking tech CEOs how the internet works nothing will get done.

[@resikchanel843]

Last fight kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4SYZKKBZ5uGhbc

[@OGimouse1]

I remember being at the Senate hearings about tracking cookies, Mark Zuckerberg, some dude from Apple teuing to explain why it was okay to get different results on your mobile than your laptop, and the woman from Google who was selling people on why Google was advertising you things you got in your emails. That was 2008. This is exactly what they told the Senate they were going to do. It's just that for some reason no one thought this woukd be nefarious.

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

This has to do with corruption, not age. Those senators might not understand what the internet is, but they do know what a monopoly and money is. The corrut politicians are more than willing to allow monopolies to continue with bribes and being given insider info to trade off of. These corrupting influences aren't age exclusive, although many in Congress are admittedly quite old and corrupt.

[@DennisMoore664]

"It's a series of tubes!"

[@JasperJanssen]

@@asherujudo7383 you don’t know what a monopoly is.

[@rickschricter]

I worked for a company that did wholesale and retail business with Amazon. Many times we were selling the exact same skus retail that they bought and warehoused. Obviously Amazon would control the buy box. As an experiment, I dropped the retail price to see what Amazon would do. Their algorithms immediately dropped the price on their inventory. Since I was selling to them, I knew what they paid wholesale. So I dropped the retail price BELOW their wholesale price. Amazon's algorithms immediately dropped their price BELOW what they paid for it, and they were willing to go as low as I would go, right up against free. How can anyone compete with a company that can run losses like this?

[@nicholase2868]

Well, you could beat the system by lowering your price then buying up a ton of discounted product to resell after they reset the price

[@GreenEarth20]

@@nicholase2868 go play some EVE Online, try this strategy in the player run marketplace and let me know how it goes.

[@jasonwilliams1713]

You should testify to congress

[@fofopads4450]

@@GreenEarth20 we are talking about amazon, not eve. Would they be reported or somethong?

[@Sane1015]

@@fofopads4450 I think they're saying Eve because it has probably the best commerce system that reflects a real world in an mmo. Beyond that, I'm not exactly sure what they believe the result would be, but I'm guessing bad.

[@911aaron]

I used to be a seller on Amazon. EVERYTHING john presented about Amazon's business practices I personally experienced myself. I had to stop my business after a few years, throw away tens of thousands worth of merchandise, and now work a regular office job. I literally could not compete with Amazon on their own platform.

[@Nicholas-f5]

Amazon is evil #BoycottAmazon

[@iwishiwaswrongbutimnot517]

No. Your a liar and want attention.

[@yannick245]

My mother only bought _"sold and send by Amazon"_ products. Because she didn't trust other sellers with her data and money. I always look for the cheapest deal and how the seller is rated. But you tried to build a business with being a seller solely on Amazon? That's not a good business model...

[@thinkbeforeyoutype7106]

Exactly! These senators/congress who don’t understand and have their family members working for multinational corporations, wealthy individual donors, and special interest groups needs to be VOTED out immediately.

[@thinkbeforeyoutype7106]

@@yannick245 It was a good business model when Amazon wasn’t interfering and stealing sellers info, but I get what you mean. Multinational corporations are sometimes far WORST than government yet some people think otherwise. We need public market place online as well as public square on social media.

[@G0DofRock]

I had a best friend say "I'm gonna Bing it.." about 5 years ago I still remember it because I never saw him again after that. Not a coincidence.

[@willashriver1356]

Lol. I've said, "Duckduckgo that!" 😊

[@RevShifty]

​@@willashriver1356DDG is literally all I've ever used for 10+ years. Whenever it was that Screwgle finally went down, the very next day I started using DDG.

[@anonymous_v.5.8]

It really do be like dat

[@somethingclever4563]

😂

[@ZeroStrife1396]

​@@willashriver1356 "Duck it"

[@maxx783]

As an Amazon seller myself, absolutely being crushed by said policies on Amazon, I am so glad this got the attention that it needs. Amazon currently owes me nearly 7k and refuses to pay, and has caused so many liabilities over the past few years I couldn't even tell them all. We don't even get the chance to sue them for their mishaps because the agreement we sign when we sign up prevents us from doing so.

[@madelineholland4275]

If it makes you feel any better, I canceled my Amazon account. And I tell everyone I canceled it. I hate monopolies.

[@weemeemoo]

Holy hell, how can an agreement like that be legal?

[@XXXoXXoXXXX]

I'll definitely be more cautious not to buy anything made by amazon for sure. And try my hardest to avoid them completely. Good luck.

[@ILuvAyeAye]

Have you spoken to a lawyer about not being able to sue them for mishaps? If you have, they certainly know better than me. I just know often those "signing away your rights" clauses aren't enforceable.

[@mary9983]

Same, been a seller for 2 yrs and every time I find a good product amazon undercuts me and takes the buy box.

[@PeterSedesse]

I literally ate for an entire semester of college because of ATT, MCI and Sprint in about 1990. Those 3 were so competitive that they would send you a check for $300 to switch your long distance carrier. Not credit, not discount, a check that you could cash... and they kept no record of it. So every 2 months I would just switch my carrier, cash the check, and almost immediately the other two companies would start calling me making the same offer. And as soon as you switched away from a carrier, they would call you and offer you a check, even if you had already gotten one from the same company. The crazy part is, I had almost no long distance bill ever. It lasted for about 9 months before they stopped offering the checks. I'm going to estimate I made between $1500 and $2000 just from those 'switch to us and we will send you a check' offers.

[@grass.dihenia2590]

Lolol bro you're a genius

[@roykelley5687]

The true winner in all of this... A legend of ever there was one

[@kellyb666]

I did the same thing! Phone switching was a reliable source of extra income for a while there in the 90's.

[@zizinnnn]

good for you :)) 👏🏻

[@sarajsh77]

I remember that. I did it once and couldn’t believe the check was real!

[@rahulpanicker1453]

Mad respect to John Oliver and his team for not making us watch ads during the show. Major props.

[@Cypres]

Oh my gosh!!! I never realized!! Now retrospectively when I think about it, that s right! There was never a KZbin ad in John s videos... I join you in your mad respect

[@chrisprilloisebola]

yt can decide to put ads on any video even if the channel doesnt add them. Not entirely up to him

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@chrisprilloisebola Oliver would roast KZbin for a solid year if that happened.

[@chrisprilloisebola]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver they already do that tho

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@chrisprilloisebola Never saw an ad in an Oliver piece.

[@JoshWaber]

The fact that they mentioned both kid’s guide to the internet and the Jeremy renner app makes it clear that one of the writers was watching drew gooden

[@sunnysside6709]

they also mentioned ratatoing, so danny too??

[@frankisnot1148]

NGL I almost choked on a drink when I've heard the Jeremy Renner App being mentioned

[@redshirtwookiee]

I was thinking someone in the writing team enjoys Redlettermedia. Children's guide to the Internet was a gem.

[@musicauthority674]

My last name is Renner also. but not related and I don't know much about him. and don't want to.

[@roshnipatel2000]

@@musicauthority674he’s just a normal actor but has very loyal fans

[@PristinePerceptions]

A simple rule will fix most of these problems - You cannot be both a marketplace/platform, and a seller/service provider. That means Google must separate its widgets from its search. Amazon must separate the Amazon Basics business. Apple must separate its payments processing from its App Store. Meta must... Well, fuck Meta. They should be prosecuted for privacy violations anyway.

[@rahulsinha9502]

Facebook’s products are laughable and irrelevant compared to the others anyway.

[@Then00tz]

I used to work in utilities (gas/power) and that was called unbundling: the company that owned the gas pipe/power line had to be seperate from the company selling you the gas/power.

[@siddharthdash8946]

India has added this rule in its e-commerce regulation law. However it does not seems to work the way are thinking

[@roboticbrain2027]

What stops me from opening up another company and separating the business sectors among them? That's the problem with any kind of regulation trying to crack down on that. If you have unlimited money you can just create new legal entities indefinitely and shift the "blame". That's how to legally pay no taxes by the way. Because "on paper" you actually don't make any profit.

[@cancerino666]

And they gotta split instagram and whatsapp from facebook.

[@Confron7a7ion7]

I would like to point out that the fact that HBO, a media giant, puts the meat of one of its best programs on KZbin should tell you a lot. These companies are so out of control that even OTHER MEGA CORPORATIONS have to depend on them and bow down to them.

[@Orangeflea1]

I mean, I'm not sure what would be preferable.

[@Scrubik1]

Or maybe this show is on YT because people outside USA can’t see it elsewhere ?

[@nerfherder4284]

All I know is that HBO lets John ream their sponsors on air, so some props for that. YT is free, HBO is not, I am glad I get to watch this show and others on YT. Doesn't mean I think YT is awesome, but besides watching some commercials I pay them nothing and give them no info besides my watch history.

[@samuela-aegisdottir]

@@nerfherder4284 "no info besides your watch history"!? Do you know that YT is owned by Google? It knows everything about you.

[@fallout560]

TBF I think this is the only show in HBO's (or even Warner Bros Discovery's) entire catalog that uploads it like this.

[@jimmyoakmeister]

I work for a local pool shop and we sell robotic pool cleaners. I cannot even begin to tell you how often someone comes in, asks a price, and then tells us they'll buy it off Amazon instead. Amazon doesn't just harm online retailers, it also harms actual real life retailers too. We cannot compete with prices that are as low as $900

[@Uruz2012]

Offer to support the product in some way. You can offer something that Amazon can't... interaction with a person who can help directly.

[@matthewhayes3142]

well, to be blunt, retailers need to do a better job at demonstrating actual value for their prices. i've experienced some dreadful behaviors from retailers giving off the entitled, you should be grateful i'm here for you attitude, while charging higher prices. uhh, no. i'll go to amazon if i don't need that important relationship. if i do need the relationship, then i'll find a competitior who offers value. i'm fine paying the higher price, but not for the entitled attitude.

[@pdruiz2005]

You forget that if all brick and mortar businesses of a certain product are driven out of business by Amazon, Amazon will then be free to set the price. You can bet your butt that as soon as they happens, Amazon will jack up the price. So don’t think Amazon convenience is free. It ain’t.

[@skillethead15]

Nobody can compete when the government just lets these companies do whatever they want. How can this be a free market when one company controls everything?

[@jeremyfox4186]

I opened and ran a board game store for several years and Amazon was my biggest enemy. It’s a literal rule in our family that we don’t buy from Amazon, and we try extremely hard to only buy from small businesses.

[@lm4349]

No Amazon purchases 2 years and counting

[@mastachefe4204]

I have only bought a shirt off amazon and thats the only time i've used the site. Only reason i even used it then was because my niece had a bday wishlist on it and i got her the shirt. I have been aware for many years that supporting them was bad because it's clear they are just after getting as much power and control as they can and they want to own everything they possibly can.

[@isajloskidarko]

shop local, support your neighbor, keep the money in the loop :)

[@annafantasia]

Hear, hear! I simply don't buy anything on Amazon, and I survive just fine. There are always ways to get items you need, or maybe you didn't really need them. In the last 15+ years, I've only purchased a handful of things from Amazon, mostly because I ended up with gift cards... and in that case, I make sure to buy things that Amazon take a loss on, like books 😈

[@thebside6267]

@@isajloskidarko Unfortunately Walmart ran most of those local small businesses out long ago.

[@t1mmah]

Glad light is being shined on this topic. As a former Amazon seller, this exact situation has happened many times on products I was selling through their platform. Amazon uses it's third party sellers to collect data on what items are hot, then go directly to the source or replicate it through private label. What also need mentioning is that third party sellers are basically at the mercy of Amazon. They can remove you at any time without warning. Most times it is without explanation. To possibly get your selling account back, you have to write POAs (Plan of Action) and pray that one gets accepted.

[@claytonjames4779]

Did you have your account revoked AFTER Amazon started selling some of your items? That would make me think

[@DXmaryoOD]

this is the case with their third party delivery companies. These companies can barely push back or they're at risk for getting kicked out. Which is how Amazon is able to avoid their drivers unionizing. Since most deliveries are done by third party companies, if drivers want to unionize, it's only for that one company. and most likely Amazon will just take away routes from them. And any information, news, or posts on the internet that discuss unions get scrubbed. Plus, as we're all familiar with. The working conditions are deplorable. They've even put cameras inside the vans to micromanage their workers.

[@aspergale9836]

And it's pretty crazy really. Like, how much profit is there in Amazon Basics? Is it more than the total profit from all small sellers if they just up and disappeared? Not saying they'd _leave_ Amazon (because they couldn't, generally), but that there should be fewer and fewer of them as time goes on and it becomes natural to avoid Amazon when even planning a small business. Which is to say, Amazon loses their sources for ideas... So why not just leave everyone working and get your cut with no hubbub?

[@DoomFinger511]

One important aspect I'm surprised was left out is that many of these companies (like Amazon) literally power the internet. Almost 30% of the websites on the internet are stored on Amazon servers, giving them even more access to data trends and physical control over the internet.

[@TheBestcommentor]

it's not mentioned because it's not an example of self-preferencing. AWS is a perfect example of a monopoly in general, though.

[@drrockkso8882]

Yeah, AWS is one of those things that the general public doesn't realize how big it is. Amazon's domination of online retail gets all the public attention, but like a third of the internet runs on AWS servers now and AWS is by far the most profitable piece of Amazon's business portfolio, even though it only generates about 15% of their gross revenues.

[@JeroenJA]

i work in Belgium, and started only to realise this, when my company with only some 200 workers, in price comparrison came out to AWS too... but they have such a head start that even Google and microsoft have trouble coming to the same scale of economies of scale to offer as good services for as low a price! and they are preppered to suffer some non-profit years to gain some market share! so that's really suprising. it does not need adressing, since it's a service to rent net capacity, it's no way a monopoly, and now that google and microsoft are more foccussed on it, they WIL gain some market share back from AWS as time progresses! like yahoo once was really dominant in internet mail too...

[@artnerd1000]

Terrifying.

[@JeroenJA]

@@artnerd1000 i really don't see the AWS part as that terrifying ! those systems are decided on by purchase responsees and real ict'er! chances are very little of AWS staying this dominant untill 2030 even! the regular people, don't like having to think to much about different option to just buy somthing pretty cheap... so the amazon web shops almost all dominiance is more worringly !!

[@theshadowdirector]

Points that were missed: - Apple arguably has a specific Monopoly in the US with smartphones because of iMessage not being open with other multi-platform messaging apps. This weirdly only applies in the States. The rest of the world favours things like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger ( both owned by meta, Which is its own issue). That's probably the main defence Apple will bring up. - they've been in trouble before but don't forget about Microsoft, Windows 11 has seen them go back to some of their old tricks like a favouring their own software and making it difficult to remove. - this kind of got glossed over but although Google play takes the same cut for purchases as Apple, you are free to install other app stores and install apps from wherever you like, so they avoid the heat there. Google play is still the most preferred store on Android phones, so Google likely takes advantage of that fact in promoting its own software.

[@AndreaLazzarotto]

You raised several valid points which, by the way, are slowly being addressed here in the EU. See for instance the Digital Markets Act.

[@VictorLopez-vc6cf]

Good points but this video was already kinda long

[@ArcturusOTE]

@@AndreaLazzarotto So if these companies comply to EU regulations, they'd also affect services (in a good way) provided everywhere else, right?

[@AndreaLazzarotto]

@@ArcturusOTE not necessarily, but I hope so. Apple and Google might still want to enforce app store restrictions in non-EU/EEA countries.

[@miketheburns]

only thing better about Google Play store vs. Apple iStore (or whatever it's called) is that to develop software for ANY Apple platform (OS, iOS, AppleWatch), you need to pay $99/year PER USER. Google just makes you pay a one-time fee of $99 PER COMAPNY. Also, you can compile and upload your program/app for distribution on any OS (Win, Linux, MacOS) for Google, but you have to compile and deploy on a physical Apple computer in order to get it on the AppStore. Oh yeah, and planned obsolescence means you have to buy a new Apple computer about every 7-10 years, otherwise it won't work with the minimum required compiler version. Fuck Apple so hard. I didn't even get to the "right to repair" shit...

[@PhobosDynami]

I used to laugh when people said that we needed less regulations. Now I cry. I don't know how so many people are blind to the fact that if you let rich people do whatever they want, we will all end up slaves to them. They will consolidate power amongst themselves and force you to stand with an empty bowl and beg for more while they laugh at you.

[@NH4Ukraine2]

That's exactly right. They use financial power to create more political power to create more financial power.

[@slipknotpurity00]

I have similar arguments with my conservative friends who all rant about labor unions like trained drones while complaining that they are getting screwed over by their job and are unfairly paid and have shit benefits. Yeah dip shit, unions are the only negotiating tool regular people have versus business owning oligarchs. Fox News brainwashing and the like have set back our country 30 years in terms of progress.

[@nomore6167]

People aren't blind to it; they want to become part of it. They want to be the ones looking down and laughing at others.

[@chichi3701]

Exactly, that's just human nature. The more powerful, consolidated and unregulated corporations get, the more they squeeze competition out, and engage in predatory practices.

[@molybdaenmornell123hopp5]

@@chichi3701 A lot of people don't actually want to enslave others, but even a selfish minority can make a decent life much harder for the rest, tempting them to break their good principles. The decent need to get better at banding together.

[@NekoMouser]

20:30 Also, note the wording - "...we have a policy against using SELLER-SPECIFIC data..." If you've EVER worked around data in your life, you know that is, at a minimum, code for "...BUT we still use aggregate data." In other words, they may have a policy that says they are not allowed to go look at CandleSeller209's sales numbers specifically to determine what knock-off scents of candle to roll out, but if someone notices that CandleSeller209 sure seems to be selling a lot of "maple bacon" scented candles, they will look at "aggregated data" across "all 3rd party candle selling stores" to find trends, like "look at all these maple bacon candles sales..." Or even if there isn't a specific store or product that drives it, they'll just occasionally look at all candle seller data regardless--aggregated together so as not to be "seller-specific"--and start producing knock-offs of the top 5 selling scents--in aggregate--hurting many sellers and not just one. ANY time someone makes sure to include terms like "user-specific" or "seller-specific" or "age-specific" or whatever when talking about data, then I *guarantee* you they are only including that to obfuscate the fact that they ARE using aggregated data for the same basic purpose. A lot of times, this isn't a bad thing and can even be helpful (like noticing that 25% of users get stuck on this one page in your website so you redesign the page to prevent user confusion; that's a good use of aggregated data). But in situations like this, where the host has aggregated data about their, and your, competition (and yourself), and can use it to harm your business, that crafty wording is bad and doesn't mean that they aren't using your own data against you. It's just slightly more indirect than direct is all. Though not by much.

[@WillieBloom]

Follow up one year on. Did you just update to iOS 17.4? Live in the EU? Apple just got monopoly-busted. Thanks EU! Are you enjoying USB-C on your iPhone 15 Pro Max? Yup, that too. Send a thank you to the European Commission. Going back a number of years, do you remember those obscene roaming charges in Europe? Yup. That too. Consumer rights when flights get cancelled? Yup (always fly with European carriers whenever you can). Anyone pooh-poohing the EU thinking it’s all about government overreach isn’t paying enough attention and is taking a lot for granted.

[@alancantu2557]

Yep, I saw this in the news a few days back. I get some of the criticisms of the EU regarding national sovereignty and independent monetary policy, but when the EU works, it works very well. Despite all of its flaws, it has tremendous potential to further unite Europe for the benefit of the common citizen. Here’s to hoping the EU will continue on the right path.

[@dusenkarotte007]

Proud to be a European 🇪🇺

[@Just2Platypus]

@@alancantu2557as an American through and through, I envy you. Don’t get me wrong I love my country and think it is the best place on earth to live or raise a family BUT that being said the population has gotten so complacent. People here don’t care enough about any of this to even read an article or research something for 30 minutes a week or even a month. So unfortunately, instead of constantly trying to improve, we are stuck in an enormous rut, with no apparent path out, and to my fellow average Americans , “that’s just swell, football is on soon.” It’s sad and mentally exhausting

[@bigbaldin]

Yeah, true, however if you look into the European parliament, it's a fucking joke. I lost all hope for the EU the more I learned about the politicians. Search for Martin Sonneborn, he tells the truth about it through a satirical channel, I hope there are some English subtitles. And for every good thing you mentioned, you can mention at least one bad thing. Remember glyphosat?

[@marcemarc6516]

The issue I have with Google is I can’t ever get to what I want anymore. I use to change words and phrases and quotes and it would change the results so I can find out exactly what I was searching for but now no matter what I do I get the same results. It’s like asking a question to a person and every time they answer with “here something I thinks relates”

[@alansandoval1705]

What are you searching for that has to be so specific?

[@XatxiFly]

Starting to happen more and more on KZbin. I can enter the exact, sentence-length title of a niche 12-year-old meme I have a history of watching repeatedly and it'll serve me a page filled with completely unrelated prank vlogs and top 40 music videos that the algorithm already knows I never click on. It's bizarre to feel like the platform knows me LESS well than it did 5 years ago.

[@SmokeyEdits]

@@alansandoval1705 have you literally never looked on google for the answer to a problem you're having? i mean c'mon, if you've had even the slightest computer issue that you've had to google you'd have seen this shit happen. you have a problem, you look up the problem on google, some of the solutions say to do x y and z thing, that doesn't work. now what? now you have an uber specific problem that the most common solutions don't work for. so you try to find the right solution, except google thinks it knows better than you so it's showing you results that are only tangentially related. ever looked up a movie clip on _this fucking website_ just to find out it wasn't uploaded? then you've probably seen this issue happening on youtube as well, where instead of trying to show you search results, it's showing you tangentially related (or sometimes not even related at all) results to your search. "People also watched", "For you", etc. what fucking meteor are you living on that you've not had problems finding things on google? even the highest level google-fu'ers i know have hopped to DDG because google is unusable. the go-to trick to make google work is to attach "reddit" to your search to get results that might actually help (and also because reddit's search feature is so bad it could be a monster in an ARG) but even then it's pretty hit or miss whether or not google wants to show you the proper results

[@Drahko12]

Same I thought I was crazy. Simple questions asked 10 years ago will give you a decent result vs today where is results full of ads or things not even remotely related to the question asked

[@HelloCatty_]

Drives me nuts that you can’t just quotation marks anymore to just get results including that specific term. The amount of times I’ve just had to give up is ridiculous.

[@hellspyro666420]

People living in small towns face similar issues with internet providers. Some people will only have the choice between one “regular” internet provider and satellite internet. Comcast, Verizon, etc typically have a full monopoly on certain towns.

[@Doc_Aspy]

That also bleeds into renters' bills. You have to use THIS cable service because no one else is allowed to run their service on our properties. You have to use THIS utility company and you pay them through us. It's bullshit.

[@t0n0k0]

same with power companies too, John covered it a few weeks ago. 😏

[@biocapsule7311]

That is why internet provider and other utilities needs to have a massive public option, if it isn't already nationalized. Not just because it will create competition, but also because the nature of fly-over regions simply cannot support more then 1 private company, there's simply not enough market to do so. The monopolies don't even have to suppress competition, there isn't a market worth doing so. You need an alternative that would guarantee service that you will never get from private monopolies.

[@Styphon]

They will tell you there are alternatives. AT&T offers me "high speed" internet - DSL at around 1% of my cable internet speed. Yay competition? That'll force the cable companies to compete on price, speed, and service. 😜

[@MrDannyd9]

Yes, that is an example of a monopoly, unlike what John’s team is conflating.

[@GrantSR]

I just use Amazon as a catalog. Once I find products that I'm interested in, I always always go to the manufacturer's website and buy it directly from them. I do not care if it costs more that way. It almost never cost more than just a few pennies or a few dollars more. Plus, I know I'm not going to get a counterfeit.

[@aragorn1780]

Heck sometimes you even find it cheaper that way!

[@Scorpia161]

This is how i'm trying to use Amazon going forward... i've always hated their business practices, but they lure of buying a bunch of random crap in one fell swoop would win out occasionally. I unlinked my credit card and will make a conscious effort to buy directly from merchants, or local places.

[@axel3895]

Better yet call them, you may get a very good discount if it's an expensive item.

[@laurenconrad1799]

I try really hard to do this. Sometimes it works. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t. One time I tried to buy a product direct from the sellers website and the item just sat in a PayPal cart without doing anything. Finally I said f**k it and bought it off Amazon.

[@brianfox771]

Yeah, I try to do this as much as possible as well. Often with add-ons like Honey I can get a better deal on the merchant's website and get free shipping with similar delivery times. And I actually do scroll down and look for the better prices or used-like new condition items.

[@luvibugi]

11:26 he perfectly encapsulates the chaos of a wildly off topic and trailed off google search, and how it can emotionally wreak havoc in a matter of seconds lmaooo

[@ev.c6]

As a computer scientist and someone who read “Big Data: Everybody lies”, this John’s presentation is just amazing. It truly highlights the problems of these big companies. Google, for example, has a lot of cleve machinery to identify what is the best model to present their information based on access to a huge amount of users. They run experiments for everything they do and that has real-world validation, because the ones validating their ideas are real users. They are the supreme gods when it comes to data harvesting and understanding human behavior.

[@AnonYmous-spyonmepls]

Yep, and they even manage to convince people that giving up their data is good for them. That shows the control they have. Imagine being able to know all market demand, for things that don’t even exist. Having algorithms that can accurately predict any market is basically game over for competition. Remember all those trillions they pile up are basically coming from the customer’s pockets so their products/services must have an extremely large profit margin that could be way less with proper competition

[@molybdaenmornell123hopp5]

Human online behaviour

[@Dunkeyhote]

Yes and they provide us with a service for free that is very useful.

[@AnonYmous-spyonmepls]

@@Dunkeyhote its not free they made trillions

[@royce9018]

Lol

[@nicoheidenreich]

You know you are a monopoly when you are having to reassure people you have competitors.

[@VisibleMRJ]

This make a lot of sense, that’s why you always hear startups saying they have no competitors.

[@TylerZoucha]

Alibaba as a competitor? They must know that people would call out their bullshit.

[@dreweverett]

No it actually just means most people are stupid and lazy. Kind of like this comment

[@jaredrak6003]

As someone who's dreamed of working at these companies to be at the edge of new tech, I was a bit hesitant at first. I like Google's quick answers, and I do scroll if needed. I like Amazon basics, they are reliable and consistent. However, the AT&T case drove it home for me, that we don't even know what the other options are, and the problem is that there is no room for those to grow. It's kind of scary to break out of convenience, but I guess we can't get comfortable if we want to keep growing

[@LocardIII]

As someone that has worked for two of these companies (Amazon and Apple) we need to step in as a people and hold them accountable.

[@richstoehr3247]

As someone who spent four years at Amazon, and who was initially very into being a small part of big tech, it doesn't take long to see the truth, if you're looking. From within, it's always "more, more, more" which is why they must be held accountable from without. Since I've left, I've found many alternatives to Amazon that are higher-quality and feel better to buy because I know what the people making or selling it stand for. It makes a difference.

[@nickwallette6201]

You only have to be really good for a little while to get people hooked. Those quick answers from Google are awesome. And more than a little bit destructive to the sources that provide them, basically for free. The Amazon Basics stuff is great -- everyone buys them and loves that relatively decent stuff can be had so cheap .... for now. Until (what's left of) the competition gives up, and quality plummets and prices rise because, what else are you gonna buy, and where are you gonna buy it? This is the reason you can't even search for something obvious and explicit on Amazon without scrolling through dozens of items that are "sponsored" and not at all what you were asking for. This is the reason why, when you buy a new washing machine or refrigerator or TV, to replace the one you've had for 20 years, you figure you're doing well if it lasts _five_ years, and might well have to have it serviced within that span. But, as long as you can buy AA batteries in 50 packs for 2/3 the price of name brands, or ask your phone for something and get a spoken answer in less than 5 seconds, or have KZbin playing on your refrigerator door ... nobody cares. Convenience and cost will trump any concerns about suffocating competition, or environmental or labor concerns. But, we'll also sit back and rah rah when someone says something snarky like "hey Bezos, why don't you stay up there in space? " Hypocrites. All of us.

[@perfectallycromulent]

well, as a mobility impaired person in the middle of boston, i can tell you that retail prices for food and other things are more expensive here from national chains than Amazon - except for Trader Joe's - and they won't deliver or give me the rest of what comes with a prime subscription. it might not be like that in cheaper parts of the country, but it is here.

[@Avistew]

I'm the same. I knew there were problems with the big companies but they're practical so I felt guilty but kept using Amazon for instance. But like you, the AT&T precedent opened my eyes on the fact that the big companies aren't just crushing the small ones, which in itself is bad already, but in doing so they're preventing us from discovering so many things we can't even imagine. They're practical now, like it was practical to be able to make a phone call rather than write a letter, but smartphones and the Internet are so much more and we shouldn't miss something as big just because we like next-day shipping.

[@Malice2297]

for anyone wondering they both passed or rather got voted to advance with a 20/2 vote for the "open app market act" and a 16/6 vote for the "American choice and innovation online act"

[@robotstonka7118]

...and Democrats did get "destroyed" in midterm!!

[@jerseyjuliesaxgal1299]

You're just absolutely the best J O. Don't ever change. You're brilliant. We're lucky to have you as a citizen here in the USA.

[@aribantala]

@Arkan Salih Even prior to this, John has been very critical with AT&T.

[@jonbrand5068]

I agree with you but I think John Oliver is here on an entertainers Visa he's still a citizen of the UK

[@aribantala]

@@jonbrand5068 He became a US Citizen in December 2019

[@warthog473]

@@jonbrand5068 He may have a dual citizenship, if the U.S. still allows it. He did a guest spot with Stephen Colbert when he became a citizen and talked about the process and taking the citizenship test.

[@CronoXpono]

I’ve said it since a Walmart opened in my local neighborhood as a kid and legit destroyed all the small businesses near it; when a company gets THAT much success/money, it’s ALWAYS at the cost of fair trade and ethical standards.

[@Rudyelf1]

What irks me the most is that people know this, yet still go there. People know Amazon is shady, but damn it if they don’t love it. Customers grew these monsters.

[@hiimjustin8826]

What kind of kid knows modern phrasing like "fair trade and ethical standards"?

[@CronoXpono]

@@hiimjustin8826 Easy. I asked questions as a kid and I was closer to my teens when the one near my house opened.

[@michaeladkins6]

I always hated walmart destroying all of those small businesses. Now its Amazon or Walmart.

[@joshfairchild]

My mothers hometown has a walmart, not a supercenter, specifically because of this. The local community constantly rallies against it when they start talking about expanding. They know it would kill any local stores.

[@juanmascorro4097]

Its become more and more evident that John has had a rough past with horses and dolphins he just can’t get over.

[@resikchanel843]

Last fight kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5nQkoZ_h62Hj9k

[@Bundalaba]

Now that I think about it never seen a Dolphin up close . Is this the yearning in my heart ?

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

Horses are scary when they're in heat, and so with dolphins. Actually Dolphins are WAY scarier than horses when in heat. Actually Dolphins ARE ALWAYS in heat. They're the second horniest animals in existence...

[@OhForScienceSake]

And Adam Driver

[@liamnehren1054]

lol Dolphins are scary to everyone but humans because we bribe them with fish. They kill sharks for fun and murder porpoise because they look similar but aren't Dolphins, yes Dolphins murder because of racism. As for intelligence, studies into their brains definitively say they aren't anymore intelligent then the dumbest dog.

[@vonakenyon7981]

I noticed that even when the item is for sale from another seller for less the shipping costs can be outrageous. Then you end up ordering from Amazon even if you don't like Amazon or their policies against unions. Some of us can afford time but not money.

[@Chris-ks4sw]

Theyre also a lot of times 5-10x the expected shipping time that amazon can

[@moonman239]

Amazon has one thing going for it, it's called an economy of scale. Amazon has massive warehouses, its own delivery services, and possibly other tricks up its sleeve to cut product and shipping costs.

[@jonathanscott476]

I used to manage an ecommerce company (I was the GM, not the owner). Amazon absolutely screws its 3rd party sellers over and treats them like garbage. But no matter what we did, we couldn't get any other channel (Walmart, Newegg, Rakutan, our own website) to do more than dent Amazon's share of the business, they always accounted for >60% of our total sales. And even that percentage put us in a far better position than a lot of sellers who sell 90% or greater of their stuff on Amazon. I even had to fight an account suspension where we had literally done what Amazon Seller Support explicitly told us to do (in writing)...and then we were suspended for doing it. It took me almost two months (and thousands of dollars to a former Amazon employee who now has a lucrative business getting accounts reinstated) to get the account reinstated and in the meantime I had to lay off a lot of people. Its also fun because Amazon doesn't tell you WHY you have been suspended, you have to write groveling letters confessing to everything you think you MIGHT have done wrong and if you are lucky...one of them will work. I could go on (and on) but I don't see the need to write an entire book on Amazon's predatory, monopolistic, unethical, and dishonest business practices in a KZbin comment.

[@asdfhklljfztvvw3686]

Your insight is appreciated, though 👍

[@delphinedelphinedelphine]

honestly, you probably could write that book. and then watch as it gets sold on Amazon :)

[@jonathanscott476]

@@asdfhklljfztvvw3686 oh boy do I have stories…but TBH it doesn’t really matter because Amazon owns too many Congresscritters of both parties, there is no way this passes at all and even if it it somehow miraculously did pass, it would have no teeth. I’ll give another fun freebie about dealing with Amazon as a seller. You have extremely strict metrics to meet so far as ship time, orders absolutely must leave your warehouse within something like 24 hours (subject to some slight wiggle room on weekends, depending on how you structure your shipping). All well and good right? I mean we all hate getting stuff late…however AMAZON itself doesn’t hold itself nor it’s FBA fulfillment to the same standard. Noticed your Prime orders coming more and more laughably late? That’s because Amazon may or may not get the order out the door in time…but wow betide the seller who does the same thing. This is probably another way of pushing sellers into FBA, where Amazon gets a bigger piece of the revenue. One more. Amazon’s bots constantly crawl the web looking for your other listings not on Amazon. You are not allowed to sell the product elsewhere, say on your own website, for les then what Amazon thinks is a “comparable price” to your amazon listing. However that price is ALSO something amazon looks at, and if the algorithm decides you are selling it for too much on Amazon itself…the listing is taken down. There is no appeal. Selling on your website for less (since no amazon fees)? Amazons bots find out and your whole account could get nuked. Sometimes you have to sell an item at a loss on amazon and try to slowly raise the price over time until you are actually making a profit since raising it more than ~15 percent or so tends to trigger the algorithm.

[@melissaburbury8256]

This is without a doubt one of the most disturbing rays of light this topic has been shed on me. It’s clear as day now that Amazon tactually & intentionally junk punches the other [the sellers] businesses by knowingly tying them up in litigious and (undoubtedly) expensive legal, contractual tittle tattle that in turn delivers a very real, very damaging blow to these 3rd party companies. If anyone has any insight or suggestions on how a difference can be made or how to help enter this bill into the conversation - I’m all ears. & I’m fine with having to old bags on the hill as long as they’re contributing to the future of this economy. Are they willing to come to the table and talk about it..or are they not? That is the question.

[@jonathanscott476]

@@melissaburbury8256 since I’m on a roll and heavily caffeinated, let’s talk about another way Amazon screws over it’s sellers, this time domestic (Canada included). Everyone who uses Amazon in any capacity knows how a listing works, there is a single listing for a specific product and then all sellers list under that listing. Selling a copy of “Starfighters of Adumar”? You don’t create a new listing, you simply list under the existing one, alongside everyone else selling that book. But for nonbooks things can get a little murkier, the same OEM widget might be sold under multiple listings as each importer slaps their own label on the widget and sells it on its own listing. Okay fair enough, that’s hardly a new thing, lots of companies sell the same product. In computers, Clevo makes laptops that multiple companies sell as their own. But where Amazon’s special brand of bullcrap comes in is with custom designed widgets that you yourself designed and had made overseas for your own exclusive use. Amazon heavily markets FBA to China, has special events to entice Chinese sellers to list on Amazon, and tries to make it as easy as possible for them to sell in America. Nothing wrong with this right? More products means more choices and better prices? Not necessarily. What many times happens is that your widget will be cheaply ripped off and then the seller will start listing under your own listing, stealing sales from you. Customers receive a poor imitation of the product they ordered, and they leave bad feedback. This then drives the listing’s rank down until it’s totally destroyed and then the seller moves on to the next listing to copy and destroy. Look up the sad tale of a product called Brush Hero for more sordid details. Also, when returns happen (because people return the crappy knockoff), Amazon mingles their return with the actual product returns, and if they decide it’s “new condition” they will return it to your FBA inventory. So now someone orders from you on the listing, not your knockoff competitor…and they still get the crappy knockoff product. Amazon does almost nothing to prevent this. “Private label” and “brand registry” is fractionally better than nothing, but Amazon does a very poor job of actually enforcing it. Sellers are ruined and driven out of business entirely thanks to Amazon enabling behavior like this. Also lots of Chinese sellers buy confidential data (internal Amazon data, the same data Amazon uses to decide which product to rip off for a new Amazon basics knockoff) about whatever listing they are going to target…directly from corrupt Amazon mid level execs in China, giving them an even bigger advantage in targeting your successful listing. Amazon basically does nothing about this. And this again only scratches the surface of how Amazon screws domestic third party sellers.

[@Dan-ud8hz]

"If machines produce everything we need, the outcome will depend on how things are distributed. Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality." Stephen Hawking, 2015 Reddit AMA

[@niteshsarkar]

was a great guy, wish he talked tho

[@jeremiahdavis360]

He was probably a fan of the Fallout series

[@ninianstorm6494]

@Esmeralda 🇪🇸 aware USA can give everyone medicare+lower inflation so wages regain value but need to punish all those whom want to stay in Syria like Schiff/pelosi? print money to sponsor artificial civil-wars so hillary/albright get cheap gold invest in Libya/iraq caused hyperinflation. george bush 14 years ago said he wants ukraine in nato foreshadow 2014 coup kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIW0ZHdnlpKdaJI wesley clark foreshadow reveal 2000 to 2012 all rig for kill iraq to syria kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ7Ve4V-rMeJfZo dnc kill 50 in vegas/portland, thugs attack with stand down cops san jose/charlotte, burn loot several months, sabotage afgan withdraw using russia bounty smear to give taliban equip, blm crash car in to wisconsin parade thanks to nbc follow jury bus smearing ritten house too kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6nSfWuqfbiUbck

[@ninianstorm6494]

@@jeremiahdavis360 aware USA can give everyone medicare+lower inflation so wages regain value but need to punish all those whom want to stay in Syria like Schiff/pelosi? print money to sponsor artificial civil-wars so hillary/albright get cheap gold invest in Libya/iraq caused hyperinflation. george bush 14 years ago said he wants ukraine in nato foreshadow 2014 coup kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIW0ZHdnlpKdaJI wesley clark foreshadow reveal 2000 to 2012 all rig for kill iraq to syria kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ7Ve4V-rMeJfZo dnc kill 50 in vegas/portland, thugs attack with stand down cops san jose/charlotte, burn loot several months, sabotage afgan withdraw using russia bounty smear to give taliban equip, blm crash car in to wisconsin parade thanks to nbc follow jury bus smearing ritten house too kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6nSfWuqfbiUbck

[@garr_inc]

Welcome to the pinnacle of capitalism.

[@theadamtron]

John Oliver deserves an Oscar for his 'Can Dolphins love you?" monologue

[@peaksingularity3032]

The Deep approves this message !

[@keithdavison2960]

It was powerful stuff

[@unsrescyldas9745]

no

[@88darling88]

that needs to an assignment for theater students to perform

[@turtleofpride4572]

Him not acknowledging Peter the dolphin was a miss opportunity. Unless he's talked about the dolphin acid experiment

[@mikiqex]

John didn't mention, that the ad space on those free websites are mostly also provided by Google. So basically Google is protection itself from paying ad revenue. And I'm wondering how many smart devices got woken up by John saying "Ok, ok Google" at 15:10 🙂

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

There wasn't time for it in the video, but Google's purchase of Doubleclick was a blatant violation of Clayton, but antitrust regulations haven't been enforced in years. They'll force a promise for something shiny that has basically no enforcement mechanism and call it good.

[@ichijofestival2576]

In so, so many ways, Google *is* the competition small businesses have to fight. The biggest part of any online business is getting into those top results. Google's algorithm determines who gets top results. But people can also just pay Google to get top results on specific searches. People can also set up their entire sites according to Google's "guidelines" to improve their rankings. They can embed Google's tags, use Google's tools, and advertise in Google's ad network. The reality is that two small businesses competing with each other are more likely to spend their time and energy competing with Google.

[@christopherweise438]

I never made that connection with Google (pun intended). If your advertisers are yourself you're not worried about losing sponsors.

[@donsanders9675]

Also, on KZbin, small content providers are constantly under threat of "demonitization" for issues real or imaginary. Does KZbin take the videos down? Only in the most egregious cases. They usually just keep the videos up with ads and keep all of the money for themselves.

[@runed0s86]

It activated on the phone that I am using to watch this video lol

[@nursaeed-croft1880]

This somehow reminded me when, back in the day of Macromedia Flash, they decided to let the users get their hands into coding themselves. The jump that Flash had from that version to next (I think it was from 5 to MX) was something they had never even anticipated. Users "went to the moon" with the things they created and Macromedia themselves said that they would have never even thought their product was capable of so much. Then, as everyone knows, Adobe got their hands in and killed it, but that's a different story. I really wonder what would happen if all this that Johno is talking would actually change, and something like what happened with AT&T happens with Google, Apple and Amazon.

[@williamcunningham6141]

My internet at home is from Texh Savy because it was started to provide a far better, and secure Internet supplier, and better service.

[@infomercialwars]

Flash was killed off for a good reason so I don't hold anything against Adobe for that, it was also a vector for all kinds of bad actors

[@kattaylor2919]

Fun fact: this also affects how I teach my students to search for information. I have to teach them to actually follow the links, not just read what’s on the search page. The search page lacks context, and is sometimes even wrong. They have to actually go to the SOURCE. I have to always tell them: google is not a source! And if they don’t follow the link, then all they have to cite is “google”

[@WildcardZwei]

As a former college student, I don't believe you should let students cite google as it is not a source; it's an algorithm that takes from other sources like Wikipedia and never tells anyone. If wikipedia articles can be barred from being a fair source in academia for unreliability (despite being far better monitored), I think google should too.

[@alex_blue5802]

I have gotten completely false information from those google answers. It just goes by whatever is most popular and doesn't take into account if the article is factual or an opinion piece.

[@michellebennett4015]

Thank you for teaching media literacy. This country needs it SO BAD.

[@kattaylor2919]

@@WildcardZwei that was my general point of this comment. I DON’T let them use google as a source. I tell them it’s like saying your source is “the library” or “the internet.” It doesn’t tell you anything.

[@kattaylor2919]

@@michellebennett4015 We really do! It’s a key thing in teaching now!

[@zoyadulzura7490]

Wow, everyone needs to know about that AT&T breakup. "The breakup of AT&T was actually a key step in producing the Internet revolution." If Republicans were as adamant about breaking up monopolies as they were in the twentieth century, what new technological advancements might break through once smaller companies have the space to innovate?

[@rubaiyat300]

Just so long as they KEEP it broken up. What ultimately happened is we lost Bell Labs in the bargain and the most rapacious, aggressive regional Baby Bell that was formed from the carcass of old AT&T murdered and ate all the others. Eventually reforming into new AT&T...which everyone hates.

[@pimpslickness]

Yeah Google is just full to the brim with conservative voters. Am I right? Those silicon valley tycoons just vote Republican out of pure reflex.

[@mrt094]

Government creates monopolies.

[@murlocmaster6192]

@@mrt094 no, people who want power and or don't think of the consquences of their actions make monopolies. So people make monopolies. Just like how we do everything else shitty and horrible without a thought

[@MrTtam07]

So we won’t talk about the gobs of money big tech has poured into democrat race all over the country… Orr that doesn’t matter right 🤣

[@FloatingSunfish]

I hope these bills pass. The internet has sadly been dominated by monopolies for far too long.

[@JOEDIRTERULEZ]

THIS ONLY HAPPENED AFTER THEY BANNED RACIST, PE- DOS AND BOTS ACCOUNTS AND WEBSITES......... DONT FALL FOR THEYRE WHINNING..... THE TECH RACE WITH CHINA IS TOO CLOSE FOR THEM TO BE GETTING IN WAY OF STUFF THEY DONT UNDERSTAND. THESE COMPANIES PROTECT YOU FROM VIRUSES, SPYWARE, MALWARE AND RANSOMWARE!!!! DONT ATTACK OUR ONLY PPL IN OUR CORNER. WHAT ABOUT BIG OIL, BIG MARKETS, BIG MEAT

[@MakeSomeNoisePlaylists]

oh really

[@Hoeslapper17]

@@MakeSomeNoisePlaylists Yeah really. Pay attention to what's going on around you

[@CyberData4]

I don't. Last thing I want is politicians gutting the internet. So then the people that bribe them get to call the shots like everything else? Meh, no thanks.

[@sterger7]

But if these companies don't have monopolies how will liberals be able to suppress news stories that impact elections? How will they be able to silence speech they don't agree with? Ugh....poor dems..you don't realize you're going to give away all your evil power by breaking up evil corps.

[@WeChoseHATE]

His bits freaking out about dolphins. Genius! Oliver is SO SMART and dived deep into his subject! Luv this guy! 👍🏼💙

[@mori1bund]

As soon as you see Jim Cramer endorses something, you know that something is disturbingly wrong about it.

[@Matt-xc6sp]

The inverse Cramer index and the Pelosi ETF are next level indicators used by real pros

[@siddhantbanerjee3328]

He's either wrong about everything, or maliciously deceiving his audience. The inverse Cramer ETF is a fairly successful one

[@rogersmith7396]

Bullshit artist.

[@pamelacass9642]

I'm always amazed that he manages to keep a show and to not get kicked...off. 🤔

[@A_T216]

Flashback to the "And Now This" compilation of his love for Chipotle lmao

[@patriciaa4451]

The dolphin rant accurately describes the rabbit hole I fall down in almost every time I Google something.

[@gabor6259]

Use s t a r t p a g e instead.

[@victorpradha9946]

But really...Dolphins (as cute and adorable as they are publicized as being, are capable of incredibly abhorrent behaviors). John went there...and it needed to be done! Join my awareness campaign. Dolphins ARE A$$hole Mammals It's True (DAAM IT)!

[@SuperFlamethrower]

@@gabor6259 Will KZbin ban me if I type out "startpage"?

[@davel9514]

@@SuperFlamethrower No. I've been using it for about 6 months. It's got a couple of bugs (such as if I make too many searches, it thinks I'm a bot, which is why I removed it from my work computer as searching images a lot is part of my job), but overall it's pretty decent. Best feature about it is that it 100% does NOT log or sell your search history.

[@warrenbuffet2848]

cool start up line for a sex date, you definetly need to use it when sitting on a couch.

[@wolflikeyou]

What's frustrating is that for people living in countries outside of the USA, the legislation of these companies has a massive impact on us but we literally have no say on these companies are held accountable. We are at the mercy of the corporate corruption of the US government.

[@lubossoltes321]

Not really. They have to abide by the laws of the local country they are doing business in. Just look up Belgium/Netherlands and computer games (loot box gambling mechanics). The problem is, EU moves even slower than US does.

[@brag0001]

@@lubossoltes321 the thing is: the US does push its legislation onto other countries through trade treaties making local laws more and more difficult to enact. The EU is strong enough to stand its ground, and it's even guilty of the same. But many smaller countries don't have that luxury. Now, I don't think that the push off the EU and US for similar rules world wide is a bad thing without any merit. Many countries have used local laws to enable bribery and corruption in the past. But OP still has a point. He doesn't get to vote on those laws, yet is affected by them one way or the other. Whether, and how, this can, or even should, be fixed is a whole other topic ...

[@vill007b3]

@@lubossoltes321That's not true. The EU is literally at the forefront of tech regulation.

[@abba-Flammenfresser]

@@vill007b3 Buddy, I live in Germany, trust me we’re not😂 almost spat out my coffee. We’re still mauling over which charger to use. FROM 2010! The day the US/UK pass stringent legislation, will be the day these major tech companies fall in line, until then, they just laugh in our faces and hush up our politicians by writing them checks. Let’s not kid ourselves to feel better man

[@abba-Flammenfresser]

It’s like people don’t realize the benefits that come with being a “superpower” sometimes💀The ability to make an impact worldwide by enacting local decisions made from within said country. For example: Here in Bavaria, Germany we could pass a legislation keeping these major tech companies in check, but that wouldn’t move the needle *one-bit* internationally. Same legislation is passed somewhere in LA, San Francisco, Dallas, or NY, and it would create drastic world-wide change, since most of the major tech companies reside/HQd within the US. It sucks sometimes, but that’s the leisure of producing products that consumers (in both private/public sector) want in high demand, and having the most powerful military, economy in the world to back it up. This goes for nearly every sector too, not just tech, hence why most of John’s videos are about America.

[@vickyfritz]

Could we have an episode where we get updates on what happened to these cases ? Like, did this bill pass ? 😅

[@reis5011]

unfortunately they did not

[@chuckwilliams6261]

@@reis5011 The golden rule; he who has the gold, makes the rule.

[@no_name4796]

Ehi the eu is passing the carbon tax, which is a step toward emission reduction, so at least one good news to make up for the bad one

[@w00kie2004]

@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket if you like to check history you'll see if you have enough gold your enemies will sell you their own bullets

[@ashtyngarner5525]

Make a segment called and now- now this as an update web exclusive

[@w.randyhoffman1204]

Folks should recall that when Microsoft decided that third-party browsers could become a danger to Microsoft's business, they created Internet Explorer, folded it into Windows, and then successfully argued in court that Windows just "wouldn't work right any more" if they were forced to remove IE from it. Netscape and the independent commercial browser industry were basically destroyed as a result. It was galling in the extreme that neither the courts nor the legislators could ever seem to understand that, at the height of Microsoft's power (before the other big dogs came along), if they felt that your app was a threat, all that they had to do to drive you out of business was to create a competing app and bundle it with the operating system that they had a monopoly on. Monopolies, tech or otherwise, have never been good for consumers.

[@JudgeCrater22]

Microsoft bought off the judges. Visicalc, the first widely used spreadsheet, did not make co-creator Dan Bricklin super-rich because of the U.S. patent law in 1979 on software patents. Then, the US Patent and Trademark Office considered computer programs like Visicalc as an "abstract idea" not subject to being patented. So everyone could try to copy Visicalc. Within two years, you had the spreadsheets Lotus 1-2-3 and Microft's Excel entering the market. Computer programs are "abstract ideas" and these programs should never have been patentable.

[@dr.braxygilkeycruises1460]

Ironically, Internet Explorer will officially cease to exist on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. 😔

[@asherujudo7383]

So you're saying Internet Explorer which was free and ended up making internet access easily available for more people, especially those who couldn't afford Netscape Navigator somehow ended up harming consumers?

[@Aaackermann]

​@@JudgeCrater22 Not sure what you are trying to say? That code isn't or shouldn't be patentable? So I could simpy copy the code for any program? I hope not! And that is NOT what John tried to communicate! He is referring to monopolies and chokeholds of the big 4 Tech companies he mentioned. But to say copyright (ie patents) should be abolished is crazy! I would be willig to argue though, that to lower the lifespan of patents in generall would be a good idea! Lets give people a headstart of lets say 10 maybe 20 years, and than patents should void automatically and get publically accessible. This would thrive innovations a lot. But to eradicate patents in generall is not a good idea. The Visicalc story you brought up, just shows how unfair and devastating this would be! Lotus and Microsoft just stole! Where is the protection of the inventor?

[@gargaj]

And instead now we have a monopoly of Chrome.

[@bntagkas]

i think i love this show and john oliver this is like modern day activism in the age where most "shows" are shills and fake as shit, this actually seems like its trying to improve humanity, and its much appreciated by me

[@saikatbag3961]

Improve humanity through a show 😂.

[@goldh2o543]

@@saikatbag3961 what are you doing?

[@mushu_beardie2556]

You sound like you're a bit new to this, and if you are, keep watching. It's a great show. I started watching around 7th grade (I was a huge nerd, still am) and let me tell you, it's a special show. If you haven't seen them already, his best stories (that are on youtube) are MLMs, Coal, and Televangelists. He really goes way farther than other late night hosts and journalists would dare/are allowed to go.

[@tictacterminator]

"i think i love this show and john oliver this is like modern day activism" this is the most disgusting sentence anyone has ever said and john oliver is one of the biggest shills on the face of the planet you're really naive if you think warnermedia or john oliver care about humanity they're pandering to the lowest common denominator, which just so happens to align with your sympathies warnermedia is literally a fucking monopoly itself

[@saikatbag3961]

@@goldh2o543 nothing. Cause i know humanity will never change. Never.

[@jeanwitherspoon4659]

As long as it’s legal for Congress to pocket millions of dollars from tech Lobbyists nothing will ever change. Better laws and oversight pertaining to Congress pocketing Lobbyists money against the what’s right and fair for the public. Vote Them All Out And Term Limits.

[@robin2012ism]

Make them pay their Corp taxes too.

[@fairman14065]

This is the only issue we should be fighting for. If this were to change, most of the rest of our democracy's problems could be solved in a civil way ❤

[@jonbrand5068]

You are correct lobbying which is another word for bribery that doesn't get punished is the central problem but cripples are officials and leads them to divide themselves into imaginary groups like Republicans and Democrats. Those divisions are completely fictitious and the strategy of dividing leadership into two flavors is employed by countries around the world as a way to let officials explain why nothing is getting done while money from bribery or as you say lobbyists blows into their pockets equally. When I go to Wikipedia and I want you to try this I upgraded the definition of the word lobbying to include a reference to bribery along with support links to external urls. And Incorrect and it takes weeks to be corrected if it's is not useful, however my correct updating for the definition of lobbying was deleted in under 37 seconds by someone who watches that word and protects it

[@keithadams7619]

4:50 "It turns out that ending a monopoly is almost always a good thing" damn straight. I'm reminded of a relevant quote "When you don't have to compete, you don't have to care". Big companies don't want competition, they never have. They want money, all the money, and they'd like nothing more than to be your only option so they can charge whatever they want in the knowledge you can't do anything about it.

[@jabtrack123]

It’s interesting that AWS (Amazon Web Services) didn’t come up. I’ve very regularly heard that referred to as the “backbone of the internet.” So it is like a core component of the internet right now. In addition to functionally making Amazon a utility that society can’t easily get rid of, my understanding is that in the tech space it affects innovation because start ups have to be careful about using AWS or else Amazon may try to claim some aspect of ownership over their products. Also major university research facilities (and research facilities in general) heavily rely on AWS and and amazon servers to hold and manage large quantities of data. Like the Amazon fulfillment and consumer product side of things dominates so much of the conversation about Amazon but I think Amazon purposefully wants that to be the case. They are a utility but they don’t want to be viewed or regulated like one.

[@applesaucey5362]

It also hides the shady shit the kindle side of the business is doing. Kindle market place is something around 90% or all digital book sales, and they can and will kick you off the platform with no explanation or justification, effectively killing the author. On top of that smaller authors pretty much need to be in the kindle unlimited program to start getting any traction, but part of the agreement of the kindle unlimited program prohibits them from putting the book on any other platform. Amazon effectively has a stranglehold on authors, and has the process of killing potential competitors literally built into its contracts. Meaning Amazon can effectively control what people read and they exercise their ability to do so. Which is something that should terrify people, but practically never gets talked about because their services are just infinitely more convenient then any "competitor"' because they've murdered all competition in the cradle.

[@zeroelus]

And while there are competitors (MS Azure) they're infrequent enough that people who work on them can command a premium up to a certain point since there's not that many of us who work with them. But yeah, how many times in the last 2 years AWS having a bad day = the internet being crappy for many. This was a huge missed opportunity for this video, as well as maybe spending a minute with apple in regards to how random app approvals in their own platform can be, and how vague the feedback for fixing the app can be.

[@Confron7a7ion7]

They do share a large portion of the market with Microsoft and Google but your argument still holds. If any of these 3 companies turned their servers off large sections of the internet simply stop working.

[@stormburn1]

There's only so much they could cover, and stores (app and retail or otherwise) are more relatable to the typical viewer. There's hours and hours and pages of pages of aspects to cover for even a superficial understanding of it all. There's a surprising number of anti-competitive, monopolist corporations to an extent that it feels contradictory that so many "monopolies" can exist until you start to get a grasp of the staggering, hidden complexity of the world around us that these companies sell and govern. That our elected representatives have allowed this to go unchecked for decades is sickening.

[@jabtrack123]

@@stormburn1 while I don’t disagree that there is only so much that can be covered in a single episode, I disagree with the concept of what is “relatable to the typical viewer”. I disagree especially in the context that the goal of this show is to spread information and provide a call to action. If you feel as tho the information you are covering is critical to the functioning of society, it makes little sense then to do one off episodes that barely scratch the surface of the issue. Also I think information about how the internet and web services are controlled and managed is very relatable to the majority of viewers. People are very invested in understanding how the web works and who controls what. Also as my original comment hinted, I think the fact Amazon is able to keep the focus of criticism on its fulfillment operations gives it so much room to fuck around in all it’s other endeavors. Edit: I have watched this show since its inception and I think it is generally positive. One thing I think they should embrace more, like how they did with coronavirus in 2020, is pick a set topic and do several episodes on it.

[@gregbors8364]

Conservatives online often express their desire to break up “big tech,” but when I mention that Elizabeth Warren was the only presidential candidate in 2020 who made that exact issue part of her platform, I never get a response of any kind

[@jasonvargas7564]

It’s not up to conservatives this time, it’s up to Chuck Schumer and he’s just as bad as the republicans. He will let this bill sit there until after august and then it’ll be forgotten with the midterms coming right up

[@Kuolonen]

It's pretty amazing to see conservative voters talk about how Republicans are going to take down the corrupt "Big Biz" any day now. Ok buddy, I'm sure the party that constantly cuts taxes for business and the rich will take on monopolies to help the little guy.

[@technoai-01]

But the rest of her policies are so contradictory to conservatism that it is really tough to support her.

[@matthewjswider]

Besides the fact that she’s a bold faced liar? One good deed doesn’t undo an entire lifetime of gaming the system and lying to the public.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Sure you do, but from whom?

[@bicyclist2]

This is a great episode. We still have several monopolies to this day. The Italian company Luxotica controls the glasses industry. 60 Minutes even did a piece on it. Microsoft is a near monopoly and the Government tried to break them up but they claimed they had some competition. Many people know that DeBeers is the diamond monopoly and has been for many decades. Unfortunately we don't see the federal government breaking up any of these any time soon.

[@laurenconrad1799]

So true. Warbly Parker is one nice business that manages to compete with Luxotica, but their glasses don’t work super well if your vision is really poor or if your have a complex eyeglasses prescription.

[@zerxilk8169]

debeers are not an USA company.

[@bobbyfeet2240]

There's no reason the US can't stop then from doing business here if they're guilty of anticompetitive practices. Which Luxottica definitely is. Probably the worst example since Teddy Roosevelt's day.

[@jmodified]

@@laurenconrad1799 Warby Parker is way overpriced - try the cheaper alternatives. I'm reading this page with glasses I paid $15 for, that would have been $10 without the anti-reflective anti-scratch coating. If you have a heavy prescription where you would want high index lenses and need astigmatism and prism correction, they'd be about $30 a pair.

[@Beautyaddixion]

When I was young and from what I was taught in school, I actually believed that we were anti monopoly. ☹️

[@yvaincallipso84]

I absolutely hate how the internet is both eliminating safe spaces for children (closing all those games sites like Disney and Cartoon Network hosted, as well as sites like club penguin, neopets, ect.) as well as trying to use them as an excuse to sanitize the rest of the internet.

[@Jaxymann]

Exactly: in the 'olden days' of the internet, younger users went to sites like Club Penguin, Disney, Cartoon Network/Nickelodeon and flash game sites that offered a safe, secure and age-appropriate environment whilst the rest of the internet was for adults. Now however, the destruction of those sites has seen the migration of young users onto social media and other sites with a mass of inappropriate content and interactions with unscrupulous and indeed *dangerous* people, and a whole host of issues around child safety online in the digital age.

[@Timmah200]

Living in Alaska, it's easier for me to skip the Amazon company sales because 90% of the time, they won't ship to me. So I really learned how to use the other sellers list because I always need to find a smaller business that will ship to me. Having said that, I cancelled my prime membership this year and have stopped ordering online for the most part (some things I still do).

[@mickymickle2764]

glad to see another person out there who seeks other places to buy from, albeit for a different reason. If I'm looking to purchase something, I might find it on Amazon first but I shop around and have found the same item for less elsewhere. Have never signed up for prime and no intentions to ever sign up. 1) where I live, highly unlikely to get fat shipping anyway and 2) if I need something that quickly, there are generally local options. get off my butt and go get it! gotta love the 'free' 2-day shipping... it can take up to a week for it to ship, doesn't count days until it's going out the door!

[@37Dionysos]

When I lived in the U.S. I spent almost $200/month for web/cable/phone. Now living in Greece I pay less than $75/month for all three and it's just as good or better. U.S. is The Land of The Gouge

[@rogwheel]

You are absolutely correct. Greece is a beautiful country!

[@markcab2055]

@@rogwheel Yeah its all fun and games in Greece til the Gov. steals all your money in your bank account.

[@FlatulentWhale]

I get 1.5gbit fiber internet with TV in Thailand for $30/mo. 1gbit in a non fiber market (most of them) is around $120/mo in the US.

[@oledshwfgk3068]

Greek income is also a third probably

[@37Dionysos]

@Jim Allen Same lack of competition that is gouging Americans for everything.

[@MrHarris73]

Shout to you John Oliver for giving me a brief trip down memory lane. I've been in the telecommunications industry for almost 25 years - and my first job was at....MCI. Great company that got swallowed up in a horrible merger with WorldCom. Bing it and see how that disaster played out.

[@TXpatriate]

I was an MCI customer! My brother-in-law worked for them when MCI was switching to fiber

[@tilmanmuller-kirsch9367]

I live in Europe (I consider myself lucky) and I hope that the American congress passes the antitrust laws against big tec. Its frustrating to see that European country need to rely on a semi functioning democracy (no offense America) to change the anticompetitive market that destroys small business world wide. I hope that they do it!!

[@sapphiresupernova]

Most of us here in the US know we're a shit-show, believe me lol. Most of the people making our laws probably only use a computer to check email and pr0n.

[@Flagdread]

Semi functional? how generous. If only you knew how bad it is.

[@Carmine_Dowd]

Along the same lines I hope the EU passes that bill that will require all phones to use the same port. EU is a big enough market that I'd have a hard time believing Apple would make iphones with USB C ports for just one continent and something else for the rest of the world.

[@gelinrefira]

Semi democracy is a generous term. America is a plutocracy.

[@chri-k]

@@Carmine_Dowd that sounds like a dumb bill, if it even exists

[@ThatMelaninLife]

This is terrifying how much control a couple companies have over our lives. We can't do anything in life without having to pay them first.

[@ragabashmoon1551]

There was actually an episode of Hawaii Five-O where Microsoft paid them to say "Bing It" it was hilarious and got them incessantly mocked.

[@adde9506]

Oh, man, the product placement it that show was PAINFUL.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Don't even SAY Bing

[@paulbonaventura4969]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver And the subway sandwhiches!!

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@paulbonaventura4969 They smell like a log with tomato farts!

[@Sem5626]

i'm a software engineer, i always tell people at work to "bing it" when they have a question guaranteed to get a laugh every time

[@martinbeckdorf4565]

That “f* you Flipper” was too heartfelt and low key broken to be just an act.

[@PinkbubblegumPop]

🤣

[@benw9949]

The dolphin and Peter have a torrid romance going.... :D Why do you think Peter was busy looking for the best surf spots when he wasn't looking for, you know, that other thing? Or looking for dolphins. (awkward, isn't it?)

[@chris-hayes]

This episode was great timing. Just days ago Google started enforcing their "Google payment only" Google Play policy. I can no longer buy Kindle books or Prime movies. 30% commission is insane.

[@SlavaUkraini85]

can you explain? i don’t get what’s happening?

[@chris-hayes]

@Panzerkeks 85 Amazon can continue to sell physical goods like it did before. However, Kindle books and Prime movies are digital goods. If Amazon did sell them in their apps and continue to not use Google's payment system, Google would remove Amazon from the Google Play store. Instead of accepting Google's exorbitant 30% commission on all digital goods, Amazon chose to not sell digital goods at all. This is the same thing Netflix is doing as described in the episode. So as a user, your main options are to either use a browser to buy Kindle books and Prime movies, or to download a different app store (like Amazon's own app store) and get your kindle + prime movies app that way. I'm using Amazon's app store app, it does the job, but it sure looks ugly.

[@SlavaUkraini85]

@@chris-hayes ah I see, thank you for explaining!

[@josephyoung2385]

@@chris-hayes I did not even connect this to my frustration with not being able to buy Kindle books on my phone. I am a bit slow. It seems silly that I have to get on my PC to buy the book.

[@GummyDinosaursify]

@@josephyoung2385 Screw Amazon altogether and get a library card with Libby. Free ebooks, no ridiculous hoops to jump through.

[@roboninja3194]

Google's motto was "Don't be evil." Oh the irony.

[@who-arewe]

John you are doing such a great service to humanity by covering these types of topics.

[@Democlis]

You have got to love a company stooge saying in a hearing "we don't do this" and than go full on against a bill that says "ok, so we will pass a bill so that others don't do this either".

[@1IGG]

Because they are lying and totally do the thing.

[@jamie81972]

Sounds like Vassily Nebenzia when he speaks at the UN.

[@philippak7726]

I would love to see these bills live. I live in a country where we had one company try and rule the internet, charging outrageous prices for it. They had specifically bought the copper network to do it. The government of NZ denied that as a defense as they were monopolising it, and forced them to open up. Suddenly it turned out it DIDN'T cost $300 to connect to unlimited internet, you could get that for $80!

[@larapalma3744]

New Zealand leads the world in a lot of stuff

[@philippak7726]

@@larapalma3744 including domestic abuse and suicides, sadly. We're trying to do better about it, and it's at least an openly known matter. And no country, no matter how awesome, cannot grow and learn more! You just have to be able to fight for it. It's why I'm ok with the "Kiwis for freedom" being able to run for office (they're the anti-vaxer, anti gov group), I will urge people to research and not accept the lies they often spout about how much "damage" not killing our population did to the economy, and how saying people should mask up is making us all weak

[@ILovePancakes24]

NZ leads in govt fascism as well

[@philippak7726]

@@ILovePancakes24 if that were true, we'd have a large portion of the actual government blaming religion and race for everything. Every part of freedom comes with some limitation, including being told "no you can't sit like a troll on everything and rule like a king" If you believe NZ is facist, I bet you also believe that Musk invented Teslas

[@rickykozak58]

@@ILovePancakes24what is wrong with you?

[@donniehendricks6537]

Well most of the other options on Amazon when you do scroll down, usually have a high amount of shipping which either works out to the same price or works out to higher.

[@Matchgirl42]

One area of tech monopolies not talked about here: internet service providers like Xfinity (Comcast), Spectrum, and...AT&T and Google. In the US, there's often just one choice of ISP, which is why our broadband monthly rates are twice or more what gets charged in other countries, and the quality of it is much, much worse.

[@nbaum11]

I think John Oliver had another episode that brought this up regarding ISPs, it might have been in one of the net neutrality issues. South Park had this covered as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJOrooiEoZ2MfM0

[@robin2012ism]

That's why we're still waiting for mass distribution of Elon's cheaper, better-built, Satellite ISP.

[@Matchgirl42]

@@robin2012ism 🤣 Oh no that's not why. It's because Elon is truly Nikola Tesla's heir, a blowhard who never fully makes good on his claims.

[@anthonylosego]

@@robin2012ism The FAA has finally green lit the Starship program. The next couple years you'll begin to see a real dent in the Satellite service gap. Right now, a few hundred thousand customers world wide is just not enough. Only Starship can take the current 2000 sats up to 40,000 sats of the v2.0 variety (nearly 2x as massive as v1.0/1.5) It will get there, but it takes time to cut through all the red tape. Same with Tesla, The Boring Company and eventually Neuralink. Watch for the prototype of Starship to launch in August.

[@aaronsmith7143]

I pay $55 a month for AT&T fiber gigabit internet. Down here in Baton Rouge. I can't imagine paying less or having better quality for less. I haven't had any meaningful down time or problems. But I also at one time lived in an area that only had dsl 3 years ago. 3mb dl speeds at best.

[@gameplayerabe4248]

Basically, anytime a big business says, "this will hurt small business'" you do exactly that thing.

[@johnsmith-cw3wo]

same when big business says, "unions will lower wages''

[@phumelela7665]

Speaking as a Non-US citizen. Guys, please do this. The US Tech industry affects pretty much all of us

[@phumelela7665]

@America Project Yes, and while we do that, it would really help things along if US citizens take action

[@MrsLeondra]

Das ist ein guter Beitrag. Er gibt mir gute Impulse für den Wirtschaftsunterricht - Thema "Monopole".

[@DreamDemonify]

The fact that everyone from left to right agrees on this shows just how important this is.

[@MrSen4lifE]

The culture war between "the left" and "the right" in the US is largely driven by tech monopolies who want everyone focusing on anything but them. It's definitely about time they get the attention.

[@bluntforcelIama]

same was said about net neutrality years ago, and right to repair recently in california, we the public can yell, but it wont matter. these tech companies spend lots of money to buy lawmakers. i say that knowing full well i know the ironey of typing this out into a google owned website.

[@JOEDIRTERULEZ]

THIS ONLY HAPPENED AFTER THEY BANNED RACIST, PE- DOS AND BOTS ACCOUNTS AND WEBSITES......... DONT FALL FOR THEYRE WHINNING..... THE TECH RACE WITH CHINA IS TOO CLOSE FOR THEM TO BE GETTING IN WAY OF STUFF THEY DONT UNDERSTAND. THESE COMPANIES PROTECT YOU FROM VIRUSES, SPYWARE, MALWARE AND RANSOMWARE!!!! DONT ATTACK OUR ONLY PPL IN OUR CORNER. WHAT ABOUT BIG OIL, BIG MARKETS, BIG MEAT

[@Smithpolly]

Possibly. On the other hand, it could be that you're only permitted to see the comments of people who agree with you.

[@hunnybadger442]

Yeah this is what bipartisanship is... We all want the same things... and no one is getting what they need let alone what they want...

[@HoldenHardman]

I live for John's roasts of AT&T.

[@treetv3351]

🤩😂🤩😂🤩

[@mikewilliams3310]

That is a sad state for your life to be in, also u all now know the regret of breaking -us- AT&T up.

[@Hadfield15]

Same here

[@demilishing]

Not for long they're owned by Warner Bros now xD

[@robinsharkey6658]

If only this MOFO would stop saying, "okay, Google"

[@gracebellamy586]

Thank you, John Oliver, for being a hard hitting journalist with a sense of humor. We really NEED that in these troubled times.

[@gavinbuck8130]

I'm glad there was someone that laughs like a snake in the audience as that's something I've always enjoyed, I'm not being sarcastic, it's my favourite form of laughter. :)

[@marpinteacup6395]

I thought it was my dog (she makes a lot of sniffing noises and strange noises), and was delighted to learn it was a person in the video

[@juliahanderson6126]

A few things that got missed, but only add to the argument is that all of these tech companies have rigorously defended their intellectual property rights being infringed by competition. But have also completely trampled over the intellectual property rights of the small businesses they know don't have the resources to fight back.

[@ecosta]

About Its, it's even worst than just defending: they have internal "patent drives" to ask their employees to create patents on any sort of idea before others do. In a nutshell, they are also patent trolls.

[@ian1352]

They completely abuse the intellectual property system. They use trademark to prevent parallel trade, generate huge quantities of vague patents and pay for copyright to be endlessly extended.

[@nomore6167]

Google is the prime example of this and the prime example that some companies can do literally anything they want. Google's entire business model is based on copyright infringement, but very few people care. People thinks "but it's Google and they make the world a better place". Google copied millions of books in their entirety, which was explicit copyright infringement on an unprecedented scale, but people's reaction was (paraphrased, obviously) "so what, they're Google, they can do whatever they want" or "well they're using it to show you where to buy the book; they're not letting you read the whole thing". Nearly everything you see in Google search results is most likely copyright infringement because Google doesn't license that content from its owners, but they sure do get rich off of it. The entitled attitude of the youth today, many (most?) of whom have no respect for copyright or artists, only exacerbates the problem.

[@soicybunny]

@@ecosta or steal all unpaid interns’ ideas and claim as their own.

[@ecosta]

@@soicybunny Yup! And the same goes for all employee's ideas. You sign a document waiving all ideas when you join those companies.

[@MentalLiberation]

I still remember using Google in its infancy back in college in the year 2001 or so. It seemed like a very earnest company at the time literally doing everything that other search engines couldn't do and doing them well and for the better of everyone. It's amazing just how much they've changed over the 20 years I've used it and ultimately not for the better. I think the writing was on the wall once I realized Google bought KZbin. Once that happened, the warning lights should have gone off... What would a search engine want with a viewing platform? Apparently, we all know the answer and it's scary

[@MrRilarios]

Yeah I remember as the "don't be evil" company. They went on the wayside once they had their IPO. Once they had to appeal to shareholders and grow no matter what, they went evil.

[@helenanilsson5666]

Especially considering how much worse KZbin became right after the purchase. Right off the bat they instantly started whacking the site for profit improvements.

[@sharr630]

There's a point at which every well-meaning startup crosses over to the dark side. It usually happens shorty after the first billion dollar valuation and/or IPO.

[@MentalLiberation]

Essentially, the stock market corrupts even the nicest and most meaningful of startup companies. It's seemingly unavoidable. Sad really...

[@globaladdict]

@@MrRilarios there is a particular year they stopped using the slogan,so they were kinda honest about it lol

[@conors4430]

I live for the day these companies are broken up. There’s no such thing as a free market when a company has enough power to strangle you out of existence, that’s not competition, that’s a cartel.

[@littlejerryseinfeld4168]

not to mention they control all your information and are constantly finding ways to sneak ads to you or capture your email , my dad has had the same email for basically the entire time the internet has been popular, an aol email from the mid 90s, i got 10k deleted, 35k to go. the algorithms also drive political views and were constantly being a/b tested for advertisers, its fucking digital totalitarianism. its amazing how profound an effect this has had on our behavior in such a short time, im 39 and when I was 29 even it was nowhere near as bad as it is now

[@sumomaster5585]

is it their fault they become successful?

[@tomthecasual5337]

i love how this man radiated determination and confidence while getting out of his car, randomly pulling on a strap and *not* opening the tailgate, before getting back into his car, as if his important job was done.

[@kathygann7632]

The Democrats were not annihilated!

[@fras2point028]

I realize this is very nit-picky, but the ratcheting part of the strap wasn’t secure. So the entire visual-parallel of “I know what I’m doing”, quite literally showed he did not know what he was doing.

[@qualifiedarmchaircritic]

i have mostly stopped using amazon, but sometimes I will use it when I have no idea where to buy something. and i have to say, the search function in amazon has become absolutely terrible. i get one half-legit result and then two pages of trash that has nothing to do with my search terms.

[@resikchanel843]

Last fight kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5nQkoZ_h62Hj9k

[@spinni81]

Agreed. I have used Amazon twice in the last two years when they were genuinely the only option. But I already knew what I wanted and even then the search results were bad. If I buy online I go to the manufacturer directly or to specialized shops. But if at all possible I prefer local stores where I can walk or bike to because delivery drivers are all underpaid and overworked.

[@OGimouse1]

@@spinni81 And after everything that came out about their distribution warehouses, my State gave Amazon a tax break to open one here. We got less than 100 jobs at less than $22k a year--including the $2k sign-on bonus if you're there 3 months--which landlords used to "necessitate" almost doubling rent. Almost all of the workers will qualify for public benefits on top of the fact Amazon isn't paying any taxes here. Because | reasons |.

[@pamelacass9642]

Amazon's search engine sucks. I bought an item that was listed on a page of items that was supposed to be similar. When I received it, wasn't the right fabric. I gave it to the intended receiver because it would have cost me to return it. And that's what Amazon counts on.

[@Bunny_Aoife]

i basically use amazon to buy books, since i prefer to read in the language they are written in, if it's a language i can understand, and other book stores here just don't have the kind of selection of foreign language books amazon does... but since books get free deliveries too, i don't see a point in paying for prime, but nowadays I notice, that my orders sometimes don't get processed for a couple of days after I put them in, and i doubt that is just because they do prime members first, im sure they just wait a while to try to get me to buy prime... luckily im in no hurry... And yes the search engine is so bad. i remember looking for a specific book, by exact name, they gave me pages of other books, with a tiny, easily overlooked line at the top, stating "your search ... was automatically translated to ..."

[@bisonnyla]

Let's say you sell a product on Amazon called "Widget Things". If a consumer searches "Widget Things" because they love your product and want to buy it again, they'll see a ton of "advertised products" before your product. And even your competitor who doesn't even have the words "widget things" in their title will show up before your product. To prevent competitors from stealing your business you need to pay Amazon advertising money to make sure that your product comes up in the "advertised products" area. And remember, the consumer originally searched for your product by name: "widget things"!

[@resikchanel843]

Last fight kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5nQkoZ_h62Hj9k

[@OGimouse1]

I argued for months with Amazon about why I couldn't find a "Note 2020 Ultra Otter Case" throufh 4 pages of APPLE IPHONE X CASES. The only way I could find a link to it was Googling it--and then it would take me to APPLE IPHONE XI CASES 🤬

[@Rayquaza894]

Same with ebay “sponsored”

[@bottledwaterprod]

It's the same on Facebook. I regret starting a business page there. I'm a photographer just starting out and if I don't pay Zuckerberg a sliding scale of money for every post, nobody sees it. And recently they've gone a step futher, if a friend or follower shares that post FB will still surpress it from the feed unless I've paid them for it to be seen. Because I lean towards art and am not often advertising a product or service, this makes it impossible to grow my fledgling little business that is frankly my only feasible way out of poverty at this point... Thanks big tech! 👍

[@N0N0111]

Amazon has brand tags you can click now, but 99% of the time their brand store don't have the product you are searching for inside Amazon. In other words they have 1000 loopholes to screw laws and make them win any battle. Verified original products need a platform on Amazon by law!

[@bryndayy]

Google is in many ways the most illustrative example. When they first started, they had a guiding principle "Don't be evil"...and that was comforting because the possibility was certainly there. But then several years ago they quietly removed that and all similar references from their company code of conduct and everywhere else. They couldn't even claim that they were trying not to be evil any more.

[@evilsharkey8954]

They couldn’t keep that slogan once they sold software to China to help lie to and oppress their people.

[@royce9018]

Because it was vague and they got sued… idiots sued redbull because wings didn’t sprout. You honestly think a comment like that would stand legal scrutinization

[@BTheBlindRef]

It was only ever a marketing slogan anyway (you know, the whole "we're not evil... compared to the OTHER GUYS" implied schtick). The fact that people bought it was laughable. Google was always a business, nothing more or less. I don't begrudge them the usual marketing tactics, but I have always been disappointed so many people drunk the Kool-Aid for so long.

[@anewhero1216]

@@royce9018 if you got sued because somebody believed you violated something as simple as “Don’t be evil”, maybe I’d think about why somebody might sue me for something like that - that is to say, that they removed it is telling in at least a symbolic way if nothing else about their mindset. Somebody said something Google did was evil, and by removing it Google functionally agrees and promises to do it again lol

[@royce9018]

@@anewhero1216 lol, symbolic of avoiding frivolous lawsuits yes. Anything else if you are just making things up. Someone might consider cutting down a tree to build a house as evil so if they as much as cut their lawn someone could consider it evil. Evil is far too vague to follow in a legal document.

[@haphazardlark1502]

Shortly after 11:50 , during the can dolphins love rant, you can faintly hear someone in the audience laughing their ass off and pleading with John, “STOP”

[@bradleywalker8642]

11:56

[@heyheytaytay]

As a side note: the REALLY infuriating thing about tech companies is they still pay little to no federal taxes...

[@herbttryhard7353]

Look at Nike or any other big Company all of them pay the absolut Minimum it's not only big tech

[@resikchanel843]

Last fight kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5nQkoZ_h62Hj9k

[@OGimouse1]

@@herbttryhard7353 That doesn't make it more okay

[@herbttryhard7353]

@@OGimouse1 i agree 100%

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

Because they are monopolies and control the policy that is made. Would you write policy that taxed you? Ofcourse not, you would be the only one with an exception lol.

[@ElDJReturn]

Thank you for this. I am one of the few people I know who has grown up through this "Tech Boom" and actually noticed it for what it is, a way around monopoly laws. I really appreciate you bringing this to the general publics attention. I still don't have an Amazon account and don't plan on having one.

[@BusinessWolfRay]

I swear to god, members of Congress get more vacation time than anyone else. With how little they actually ever get done, they have a lot of nerve taking all these recesses.

[@ILuvAyeAye]

It's rarely vacation, they go back to their home state to campaign. Sadly, that's their actual job, and where most of their effort goes - getting people there to elect them.

[@t1mmah]

And if they get extra pissy, they will shut the government down.

[@appalachiabrauchfrau]

@@t1mmah and its always over THEIR paycheck, screw the nat guard or any other gov employee, right? THEIR budget hasn't been agreed on, so they MUST throw a fit and get time off to pout while the rest of the gov employees work without pay.

[@olibear1966]

the uniquely amazing humor on this show is finally back and i love it

[@Kap00rwith2os]

I remember Microsoft making the same arguments back in the 1990s and early 2000s that Google, Apple and Amazon are making now. It's just history repeating itself.

[@andybaldman]

They just wait a generation, for everyone to forget.

[@henrylam92]

@@andybaldman issue is that those elected congress ppl have no clue bc they have been in the office way before Microsoft and haven’t caught up yet

[@dirkdiggler.]

Can you be more specific or time stamp the argument they are making

[@BeardVsTheWorldUK1]

AT & T said the same before that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Standard Oil didn’t argue in the same vein. Power does what power do.

[@KLanio-lr8yv]

It's the same basic idear that the riaa used against amberol cylinders Controll of content

[@mayanksaboo8045]

Companies: We love capitalism Capitalism: Here's some competition Companies: NOT LIKE THAT!

[@TheAecke]

Companies: we love capitalism! We can pay lobyists to create law that prohibits competition. Capitalism: working slavey yay!

[@l.a.gothro3999]

EX-actly. Very well-put!

[@robertshort9487]

@Nicholas Time capitalism never ends up in monopolies. You are thinking of socialism

[@rogersmith7396]

If only we could move to China. Those commies really understand capitalism.

[@davgg9621]

@@robertshort9487 tell me you don't know a thing about socialism, without telling me you don't know a thing about socialism

[@JoeD0403]

Google’s informal motto used to be “Don’t Be Evil”. It no longer is. They actually went thru the exercise of removing it from all internal materials. They could have adopted it formally, but banished it instead.

[@MarcelaElviraTimis]

So... they too became embodiments of the saying "you can either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain".

[@Athrun82]

Whoever believed "Don't be evil" was naive. I mean even back then they had your search history, possibly your mail adress and a satelite image of your house. And now they are on your phone which most of us carry with us each day and also have our video preferences and whatnot.

[@MybridWonderful]

There is a book you should read, "Founders at Work". In that book the history of the "don't be evil" motto is given.

[@quantom6]

@@Athrun82 they meant it at first. Then the people in charge changed. They made a concerned effort to remove the old motto and accept becoming evil to maximize short term profits

[@JoeD0403]

@@MybridWonderful Their current motivation is to make sure CPCs rise every quarter or Wall Street freaks out.

[@Bubuzizi]

John Oliver will never read this comment or reply to it but this man is a genius! I wish there were more of him out there.

[@aandwdabest]

He does his job quite well and fits my niche for infotainment.

[@MiCasa-90]

While a great piece, this doesn’t even scratch the surface with Amazon. John didn’t mention Amazon’s and Googles complete stranglehold on the Cloud. Every tech start up uses some combination of AWS and Google Cloud to host and deliver data to their customers. That’s like owning all of the land on which street vendors want to sell groceries on.

[@peterb5825]

Yeah, it's hard for a lot of people to understand because they only know these companies for what they offer the consumer directly, but they control so much and it's only going to get worse. Outside of extreme government intervention I can't see a way out of this.

[@Huntersmokescrack]

Hopefully starlink will be a solution to this. According to a recent article, starlink will get cheaper when more and more people join. Elon said the overhead stays the same, so should the profit.

[@torinnbalasar6774]

@@Huntersmokescrack does Starlink provide cloud services? I thought it was only adding to the routing backbone of the internet, not hosting servers, storage, or any other actual cloud service.

[@tc2241]

All the companies I’ve worked for eventually migrated to Azure, but thats not any better in terms of competition

[@davidt3956]

It's not quite as dire there, but there wasn't enough time to dig in. There are still options for cloud, but they're disappearing fast. One thing about the need for antitrust is that business needs to be separated. Bezos can use AWS to support losing money in the marketplace in order to put other companies out of business.

[@unironicallylikesranger7122]

This kind of problem is really obvious when you take a moment to look at it. So obvious, in fact, that it's what started the whole Cyberpunk genre and the original game. You're not losing part of your soul with cybernetic implants, but the Amazon Smart hand™ isn't going to pick up a wrench sold by a small company.

[@rahulsinha9502]

The Cyberpunk genre is way older than any video game.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

@@rahulsinha9502 The OP said "Cyberpunk genre" and there exist a Cyberpunk game before Cyberpunk 2077, it's called "Cyberpunk" and is a Table-top RPG created and written by Mike Poundsmith and was first sold around the same time the Cyberpunk genre was active...

[@utkarsh2746]

"The Amazon Smart hand isn't going to pick up a wrench sold by a small company" is probably the most nightmarish line I have ever read. Cthulu has got nothing on this monstrous entity.

[@TurbopropPuppy]

the true cosmic horror was capitalism all along! something something paperclip maximizer

[@liamnehren1054]

@@rahulsinha9502 also the oldest cyberpunk video game predates Amazon so it's more about late stage capitalism in general not a specific company which is way it still fits like a glove. The new versions of an old problem that governments seem to be completely useless to definitively solve.

[@ZandoFox]

The blatant copying of products by Amazon is really what does it for me. Nothing is ever enough for these companies.

[@blixten2928]

Boycott Amazon. It CAN be done!

[@MichaelJones-lc6ys]

The point is to be the only game in town. Amazon is the online version of Wal-Mart. And once they are your client, they are your BIGGEST CLIENT, and you have to do what it takes to keep them happy. Break up these companies and INFORM THE PUBLIC OTHER OPTIONS EXIST. That is the only way through. You vote with your wallet. Money IS speech.

[@chrisprilloisebola]

@@MichaelJones-lc6ys and ppl forgetting about the massive amount of third party sellers on their who make their living such as myself lol

[@TheGholiday]

I remember years ago there used to be a search engine called, “Bullseye”. I could always find exactly what I was after and it wasn’t on Google or Amazon. As it is, I have never nor will I ever purchase anything from Amazon whilst their atrocious worker conditions exist.

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

Just about every sector of our economy is controlled by a monopoly or oligopoly of corporations that have way too much control over our lives and our government/politicans (which enable them continuing to be monopolies/oligopolies).

[@resikchanel843]

Last fight kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5nQkoZ_h62Hj9k

[@xdrowssap4456]

yup! cartellism on full display

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

And keep control over government so nothing changes. And if anyone actually wants to do something everybody cries socialism.

[@nikhilbhagwat5991]

FASCISM is Merger of State and Corporate Power. -Mussolini

[@theondono]

I have yet to see a monopoly that is not a direct cause of government meddling. Government is the ultimate monopoly maker machine.

[@Wolfesbrain]

This story makes me think of all the different app developers that created popular apps on Android that ended up getting bought by Google/alphabet at the peak of their popularity, and then Google just...didn't do anything with the team. Like, the devs were supposedly transferred to teams inside Google working on similar products, but the features the app was popular for never got integrated into anything Google and the app itself stopped being updated because Google moved the devs to other projects. Google just bought developers to kill competition. EDIT: A specific example I have is the app Timely, because I used it myself and loved it. They were growing in popularity, announced that they were talking to Google about being bought, got bought, and...the app died. None of the features have been integrated into Google's own clock app, and since the app itself hasn't been updated since...Android 9, I think, it doesn't work on modern installations of Android anymore because of changes made to the core infrastructure.

[@Miafunfactory]

How about the new smart battery app?

[@whatisdelicious]

Dude literally as I was reading your comment I was thinking "TIMELY." I was so bummed when Google bought it. Some of the ethos made it into Google Calendar's ability to put goals into your schedule but it's such a lame implementation.

[@rojastegulu]

Because they don't care about the teams or the product, they just care about the user data they've collected.

[@GeorgeTsiros]

look up "embrace, extend and exterminate". look up how many competitors microsoft outright bought out instead of daring to compete. This has been going on for decades and there is no fucking way it will ever slow down, much less stop.

[@zeroelus]

Timely! I used to be on Android and moved to iOS but the one app I (still) sorely miss from my Android days is Timely. Sucks that this happened to that team, but also, it's Google's very own modus operandi regarding apps, even their own, in that they care (and people get promoted) with working on new apps or projects, but maintaining apps gets you nowhere, the ridiculous track record they have with messaging apps is part of this, as is many beloved services. I still use gmail and their search but that's about it, I don't trust them on maintaining their apps.

[@blainemarcano]

Wow. Wow. Wow. This piece expressed so clearly what I’ve been telling my friends for years. Large tech companies need more regulation!

[@blainemarcano]

@Clyde Sure! Do I get to say sensible things in a silly way? Because saying sensible things in a serious way feels like my work, and there's no point to saying silly things in a silly way.

[@erichancock6815]

only problem with that is those who would regulate it are owned & operated by the aforementioned corporate giants who've lobbied, corrupted & otherwise spent relatively small sums over generations to buy a growing majority of legislators to help them gain more control & profit, creating the historic wealth gap, which is just repeatedly rebranded 'trickle-down economics'. How do you rule with absolute power in a democracy? Manipulate the electorate through their respective media platforms you also own & narrate in order to gain votes for the candidates you control so they can continue to gut social spending for things like education (creating more increasingly un-educated & malleable voters) to fund increasingly more corporate socialism, then wash, rinse & repeat. Good luck overcoming that to get any regulation with teeth in these laughably corrupt times.

[@blainemarcano]

@@erichancock6815 though I try not to be as pessimistic, I cannot ignore the reality that you’re describing. It’s sad.

[@216marketing9]

The Bing Crosby line is gold.

[@stereo-soulsoundsystem5070]

or white