Friday, July 09, 2021
EXECUTIVE ORDER ON PROMOTING COMPETITION
QPORIT XR NEWS BRIEF
JULY 9, 2021
President Biden today signed an executive order to promote competition in US commerce.
Currently there are several companies, led by Apple and Microsoft, that have more than a $1,000,000,000,000 valuation. That's a $$$ TRILLION dollars.
A disturbingly large fraction of the wealth of this country is locked up in these companies.
The business practices of ultra large companies (including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Google/Alphabet. Amazon, and Tesla) have also been controversial. Among the issues are:
- Do they inhibit other companies unfairly?
- Do their practices unfairly increase prices for consumers?
- Do their practices allow them to make too much money?
- Do they have too much power over economics, policy, or anything else?
- Do they violate people's privacy?
- Do they allow the use of people's data for bad outcomes?
- Do they facilitate the propagation of lies?
- Do they facilitate organizing for illegal or dangerous activities?
- Are they careless about possible harm that can come from their activities?
Big companies can contribute in important, positive ways to the economics and quality of life in the country. Any regulation must facilitate the benefits while preventing the harm -- now and in the future -- coming from companies doing business in the US.
Here is the text of the executive order:
Here are the President's remarks when signing the order:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42StVbuz0ro
Last year, the House Judiciary Committee issued a detailed report on competition:
https://judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/competition_in_digital_markets.pdf?utm_campaign=4493-519
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Underlying the behavior of our large companies (and small one's too), and affecting any governmental action that may be taken, is the fact that technology is accelerating exponentially. Here are some predictions (made here in QPORIT) for 2021:
· Technological development will continue to increase exponentially.
o It will be a difficult challenge to equitably distribute the benefits of technology to all social, geographical, age, financial and other demographics.
o There will be new cameras and new headsets for Virtual Reality.
o There will be progress in developing Augmented & Mixed Reality.
o AI will have new techniques and new business applications .
§ Chinese AI companies will do very well.
§ Robotics will improve significantly.
§ Automated vehicles will make big advances.
o 5G will continue to roll out, and there will be a few notable applications.
§ Getting fast 5G to rural areas will go very slowly.
· (“5G” includes several different technologies of different speeds.)
o Cloud services will be a big business.
o Cyber security and regulation of technology will be major issues.
§ But they are complicated and there will be no major solutions in 2021.
§ New laws and new ways of thinking about technology may be needed.
§ It may even be necessary to change the fundamental TCP/IP and other protocols that govern Internet communications.
Labels: antitrust, data, Executive Order, full text, full video, President Biden, Promoting competition, QPORIT XR NEWS BRIEF
