LQFOXGLQJVNHZLQJVHDUFKUHVXOWVWRIDYRULWVRZQVKRSSLQJWUDYHODQG¿QDQFH
sites and copying content from other sites only to leverage it against them—and
WKUHDWHQLQJWRUHPRYHWKHPIURPRRJOHVHDUFKLIWKH\FRPSODLQHG,Q
following some concessions by Google but no promises to stop the worst
R̆HQVHV)7&FRPPLVVLRQHUVYRWHGXQDQLPRXVO\WRHQGWKHLQYHVWLJDWLRQ7KHQ
LQ WKH)7&¿QHGRRJOHPLOOLRQIRUWUDFNLQJWKHYLHZLQJKLVWRULHVRI
children on YouTube.
$OVRLQ *RRJOHSDUWQHUHGZLWK$VFHQVLRQDKHDOWKFDUHRSHUDWRUDFURVV
states, to obtain lab results, doctor diagnoses, hospitalization records,
medications, medical conditions, radiology scans, birth dates and names,
addresses, family members, allergies, immunizations, and more from millions
of patients without notifying them or their doctors, much less obtaining their
consent. This was not a violation of HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act), as Google was providing AI software to help suggest
better care options for patients. But Google has also sought FTC permission to
buy Fitbit, which would give the company even more data on user health, such
as sleep schedules, exercise, and heart rate. The Ascension partnership plus the
proposed purchase have sparked privacy concerns among lawmakers (the Fitbit
deal has not yet been approved).
Amazon, meanwhile, has captured its market on the back of years of operating
DWDORVVIRFXVLQJRQJURZWKRYHUSUR¿WVSUHGDWRU\SULFLQJDQGYHUWLFDO
integration that allows it to exert price pressure on competitors or even leverage
its delivery and distribution network against them. Often this has resulted in
unfriendly takeovers, such as when Amazon tracked prices for diapers on
FRPSHWLWRUGLDSHUVFRPPDLQWDLQHGORZHUSULFHVDQGR̆HUHGSURPRVDQG
discounts in a newly introduced “Amazon Mom” program, only to cut the
discounts once diapers.com’s parent company was forced to sell to Amazon.
“Amazon is exploiting the fact that some of its customers are also its rivals,”
FRQFOXGHV/LQD.KDQDXWKRURIDYale Law Review article on how Amazon
has confounded traditional antitrust understandings.
7KHFRPSDQ\ZDWFKHVWKLUGSDUW\VHOOHUVIRUVXFFHVVVWRULHVRQO\WRR̆HUVLPLODU
products under its AmazonBasics brand at a lower price. Furthermore, the
company sets prices variably, depending on several factors, often many times
SHUGD\7KHFRPSDQ\KDVVDLGLWGRHVQRWVKRZGL̆HUHQWSULFHVWRGL̆HUHQW
customers, but the practice makes it hard to prove predatory pricing.