Yeah - I’m aware of this way of thinking.
If the goal is to simply clone google or Facebook in Europe for reasons of politics then I agree - hobbling them would facilitate that.
If the goal is to actually produce something better, I think the opposite is true.
If you hobble them through protectionism, you create a vacuum which will be filled by a clone.
The clone will then have the same incentives to preserve the status quo as Google and Facebook are doing, just with different ownership.
The only way to replace Google and Facebook with something better is to identify and invest in something better - I.e. something that offers value that they can’t.
I do believe that government investment, can help with this.
I also believe that consumer rights laws etc can help.
If the goal is to simply clone google or Facebook in Europe for reasons of politics then I agree - hobbling them would facilitate that.
If the goal is to actually produce something better, I think the opposite is true.
If you hobble them through protectionism, you create a vacuum which will be filled by a clone.
The clone will then have the same incentives to preserve the status quo as Google and Facebook are doing, just with different ownership.
The only way to replace Google and Facebook with something better is to identify and invest in something better - I.e. something that offers value that they can’t.
I do believe that government investment, can help with this.
I also believe that consumer rights laws etc can help.