FTC Commissioner Rosch: Beware of Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft

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Federal Trade Commission member J. Thomas Rosch said that he's concerned that four major Web platforms — Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft — could skew the Internet advertising market to the detriment of competitors and potential upstarts.

"We have to be careful about letting the current players manipulate the market in such a way that it does tip prematurely [in their favor] and that it hurts rivals," Rosch said after his talk at an antitrust conference held by the American Bar Association. Commissioner Rosch declined to say specifically what activities or potential activities worry him. But he singled out the four Web giants that he has his eye on, all trying to monetize their large audiences through advertising, albeit in different ways. "For example, Google is trying to do it though its search methods. Facebook is trying to do it though its huge population of friends," Commissioner Rosch said. "Apple's trying to do it though its app stores. Microsoft is trying to do it through its alliance with Facebook." "This is a pretty highly concentrated market, as far as I'm concerned," Commissioner Rosch added.


FTC Commissioner Rosch: Beware of Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft