The dirty little secret that could bring down Big Tech

3 years ago by bboplifa to c/technology

New research reveals that Silicon Valley uses predatory pricing to crush competitors and scam investors — evidence the government can use to bust up tech monopolies.
Synthead 172 points 3 years ago

Predatory pricing catching up with them.

Saved you a click.

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DrSleepless 37 points 3 years ago

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

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CaptObvious 10 points 3 years ago
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RememberTheApollo 11 points 3 years ago

And they’ll still overpay themselves while making consumers and lower employees suffer. Consumers get shittier service and employees get shitty pay, longer hours, more demands…If they don’t get laid off.

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sadreality 1 point 3 years ago
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Kerfuffle 8 points 3 years ago

More like:

Predatory pricing

exists.

Don't hold your breath waiting for anything to catch up to the 1%. To be honest, I don't know the average person even really want it to. I mean, suppose I use Uber. Am I really going to be out there writing letters to my congresscritter pressuring them to force Uber to stop selling their product below cost and consequently make my Uber rides significantly more expensive? "Oh man, I sure wish Amazon would stop selling me such cheap products with next day shipping. This problem needs to be fixed, they're hurting the free market!"

Eventually the frog might get boiled, but that's some time in the future. The frog is feeling comfy now.

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BaumGeist 8 points 3 years ago
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Kerfuffle 7 points 3 years ago

I couldn’t imagine bragging to the world about how I have no moral spine and will suck off

You realize I'm speaking generally, right?

In fact, I've never once used Uber or Lyft in my entire life. My point is that the average person isn't going to push for something that has a tangible negative effect right now to possible make things better in the murky future.

Now I could say: Well, the rabble sucks but I on the other hand am a cut above the rest. I'm one of the few who is willing to make the tough choices and endure whatever sacrifices are necessary to Do What's Right. But hey, talk is cheap so what's the point really? I guess if I'd added a bit about how special and great I am (it's true!) I might have avoided having my fellating skills become part of the discussion.

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BaumGeist 2 points 3 years ago
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sadreality 0 points 3 years ago
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awderon 36 points 3 years ago path: 0 1441122, hotness: undefined, score: 36, children: 0
fubo 23 points 3 years ago

Venture investing is the answer to the question of what would happen if you staffed a bank's loan department with adrenaline junkies.

Well, no. When a bank extends a loan, it knows the upper limit on how much money it can make from that loan. It might make less, if the debtor ends up defaulting on the loan; but it can't make more.

In venture investing, the upside is unbounded. The company might go to zero, but it might become the next Google; and the venture investor gets to own a fraction of that.

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drdabbles 14 points 3 years ago

"new research" here translates roughly to "information known for over half a century".

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propaganja 6 points 3 years ago

"Information known for half a century that nevertheless didn't mean jack squat because it couldn't be legally explained in such a way that would convince a layman court to break past precedent; but that we've now reframed into a compelling interpretation that much more obviously meets the standards required for a court to rule something as 'predatory pricing''; thus, any future cases brought are much more likely to succeed."

tldr: We think we've found a way around the technicality VCs have been hiding behind all these years.

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ParkingPsychology 11 points 3 years ago

Where Wansley and Weinstein break important new ground is on the other legal standard set by the Supreme Court: recoupment of losses. If Uber and WeWork and the rest of the unicorns are perpetual money losers, it sounds like the standard isn't met. But Wansley and Weinstein point out that it can be — even if the companies never earn a dime and even if everyone who invests in the companies, post-IPO, loses their bets. That's because the venture capitalists who seeded the company do profit from the predatory pricing. They get in, get a hefty return on their investment, and get out before the whole scheme collapses.

Yep. The venture capitalists found a loophole.

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sadreality 1 point 3 years ago
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dragontamer 3 points 3 years ago

Whoops! Something went wrong. (404 page not found)

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ritswd 2 points 3 years ago

Summary: “oh no, startups are risky”.

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14th_cylon 11 points 3 years ago

that is absolutely not summary of the article

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style99 2 points 3 years ago

This article's blow-off strikes me as a little too Pollyanna to be believed:

The same kind of aha! light that went off for Wansley during his interview with the Lyft executive could start to go off for other people as well. Some of them will be investors who decide not to park their money in predatory tech companies. And some of them, perhaps, will be government regulators who are looking for ways to bust our modern-day trusts.

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