Prime time in the Trump Antitrust playbook!

WSJ, here. "Trump hasn’t yet decided whether the administration will settle with the company over accusations that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to quash its competition, according to a person with direct knowledge of his thinking." 

What can you expect from someone who even tried to tax pinguins 😊?

Little tech goes to Washington DC - and discusses the DMA!

 

Y Combinator, video here.

How is the Ferguson FTC going to tackle Big Tech?

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

4h

Little Tech Summit @ycombinator.com.web.brid.gy www.youtube.com/live/yjIJOfg... at 7pm CET @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu !

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‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

3h

- Leaving Big Tech alone was a Democratic thing under Obama (true) - M&As are good but not all the time (took 5 minutes to say it) - Walled gardens pose innovation stagnation problem - but please no ex-ante, ça va sans dire, until proven otherwise

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

3h

- DMA interoperability provisions, aren't they beautiful? Perhaps, perhaps no - But I DON'T LIKE THE DMA - JUST ABOUT FINES AND BUREAUCRATS - AND WE'RE INNOVATING - THEY ARE JUST LEVYING TAXES - IF WE HAVE AN INNOVATION PROBLEM, IT'S UP TO US TO SOLVE IT 🤥

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

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3h

- Trump firing two Commissioners was just fine

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

3h

- We love pioneers, but please do not mention the DMA to me!

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

2h

...and now, catching up on what the brilliant Doha Mekki previously said: - factionalism on the right is an issue (expressing "sympathy" because she saw it all playing out on the left) - Going up against Big Tech companies takes some serious guts (commitment, she said), factions in gov not helpful

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

2h

- Google search trial strategy: "we were thinking about the average person going to the internet and visiting an access point, so that they can get information and make choices for themselves about how they wanted to live their lives" - Other case 😉: thinking about developers...

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

2h

- on that telling, who cares about lobbyists and shillings?

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

2h

- paraphrasing, "pioneers, the DMA is here for you" [she said *antitrust*, of course]

Simonetta Vezzoso

‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

- the future: convergence of economic and national security issues 🥹 - importance of industrial policy for the infrastructure (tu quoque) - entrenched big tech power can make other industries worse (e.g., surveillance of farming equipment)

April 2, 2025 at 6:32 PM

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

1h

...and now, catching up on what Bannon (!) and Chopra - very uneasy coalition against Big Tech (both agree); - Lina Khan is great (both agree); - Defunding watchdogs isn't good (Chopra); - Bannon: "populist nationalist idea about antitrust" - can't wait; - Firing two FTC, a warning sign?(Chopra)

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

1h

- I've seen the power of Big Tech and the State, and I say, go and f** yourself (you guess); - The EU is so corrupt that you can't trust their DMA (even it's good), EU is a monarchy we left behind, and so much nonsense as possible (Bannon)

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

1h

Best of luck to @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu, who will shortly have to wade through the delightful contradiction where every Trump supporter on stage so far has railed for taming big tech, yet lambasts the DMA, which aims to do exactly that.

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

1h

So far, she manages greatly by not answering the questions 😂

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

55m

- Good regulation helps innovation (Ribera), - EU as frontrunner in this, cooperation with other enforcers is key (how did it go with Ferguson?); - DMA interoperability: doable; - Rich biodiversity, room for innovation is her measure of success; - Adjust course might be necessary, eg loopholes

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

51m

[Great that she mentioned biodiversity: just finalizing a paper on an evolutionary framework to analyse the DMA and assess its performance🍀]

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

45m

Tim Sweeney talks of malicious compliance à gogo - until when 🤔?

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

32m

Sweeney on Ferguson's take on the DMA: Europe's goal is that those gatekeepers compete fairly, not levying taxes

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

6m

Mark Zuckerberg was at the White House today, that's "troubling" @linakhan.bsky.social

Simonetta Vezzoso

‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

So, I'm not the only one who hasn't read Abundance yet - @linamkhan.bsky.social is going to buy it at the airport on her way home 😉

April 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM

‪Simonetta Vezzoso‬ ‪@wavesblog.bsky.social‬

·

17m

From Hayek to the Facebook in a sentence, brava Lina!