WSJ: Lobbyists Easily Destroyed Any Semi-Serious Antitrust Enforcers Left In MAGA
WSJ: Lobbyists Easily Destroyed Any Semi-Serious Antitrust Enforcers Left In MAGA
"In 2021, the virtual world was the future of the internet. The pandemic had sequestered everyone indoors, heightening the appeal of digital communities. Facebook rebranded to Meta — a sign of the tech giant’s investment in and commitment to the metaverse as the future of the internet. Despite losing billions in VR, Meta released an upgraded version of the Quest 2 headset and began focusing on launching a higher-end Quest Pro. At the end of the year, it announced its plan to plunk down a rumored $400 million to buy the independent VR gaming studio Within, maker of a popular fitness game called Supernatural. Less than five years later, however, it shut the game down, leaving a community of avid fans bereft.
To former FTC chair Lina Khan, there’s a lesson in the ultimate fate of Supernatural, and the community that had grown up around it. She’d know — because she tried and failed to block Meta from acquiring Within.
“You need to have some regulatory humility because you don’t always know on the front-end how certain products are meaningful for certain communities,” says Khan. The FTC’s Meta lawsuit was often framed as an abstract attempt to rein in Big Tech. But in the end, the acquisition’s human cost was obvious — and an example of precisely why antitrust law matters. “Bringing to light that [Supernatural] was a core way for communities to stay healthy shows that there were real stakes here.”"
https://www.theverge.com/report/896820/lina-khan-ftc-meta-supernatural-antitrust
#USA #SocialMedia #VideoGames #VR #Meta #Facebook #Monopolies #FCT #LinaKhan #Antitrust
Apple cancelling Jon Stewart was shortsighted & petty, did Apple expect he wouldn't discuss them?

RE: https://mastodon.social/@tanyatussing/115950703304029156
This group does a great job of explaining every day #economics -- how our post-competition "free market" rips off #families :
https://bsky.app/profile/groundwork.bsky.social
During the Biden admin, #LInaKhan & the #FTC were working to make the US economy more competitive. This weak #competition raises #prices, lowers #wages, & hurts #smallbusiness .
Big Market statt Big Tech!
Die USA haben ihre Tech-Monopolisten. China hat seine massive staatliche Förderung. Beides ist nicht das, was wir in Europa unter einer funktionierenden Marktwirtschaft für digitale Dienstleistungen verstehen. Wir müssen unseren eigenen Weg gehen.https://kaffeeringe.de/2026/01/04/big-market-statt-big-tech/
"Then, back lit, filling the saloon doors, amid swirling dust, staring down the debauch...comes Lina Khan."
https://3m.fyi/posts/the-redemption-of-lawyers/
#LinaKhan #CoryDoctorrow #Monopolies #lawyers #PowellMemo #PowellMemorandum #Bork #Nixon #Reagan #AntiTrust #Oligarchs #Oligarchy #Plutocrats #Plutocracy #Trump #Law #BreakEmUp #Litigate #democracy #FTC #Mamdani #Zoran #NYC
Wall Street Ruined the Roomba and Then Blamed Lina Khan
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/how-wall-street-ruined-the-roomba
#HackerNews #WallStreet #Roomba #LinaKhan #TechNews #Innovation
Pluralistic: Instacart reaches into your pocket and lops a third off your dollars (11 Dec 2025)
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://pluralistic.net/2025/12/11/nothing-personal/