Meta and Google and Monopolies: Why Competition Should be Encouraged

If you have to look something up, chances are you're pulling up a Google search page. If you meet someone new, discover a new band or a brand you really like, chances are the first thing you do is find them on Instagram. You might not see anything wrong with these scenarios, but it turns out, the Justice Department and FTC do.  

Meta and Google are currently sitting in court for their own respective monopoly trials. For Meta, the FTC is claiming that their acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp were unlawful attempts to eliminate competition and create a social media monopoly. For Google, the Justice Department is claiming that their search engine (as well as their advertising platform and app store) is a monopoly, with some interesting claims and nuances related to paying companies like Apple to be the default search engine on their Safari browser.  

None of this currently affects you directly (but if Meta is forced to break up its Instagram and WhatsApp services, that will be a realllly interesting time for everybody), but what we really care about here is the idea of competition, and why you shouldn’t always settle for the Big Guys.  

Competition is Healthy 

The Big Guys certainly have an advantage with more resources and investment power. But the biggest misconception about them is that they also mean better quality. If you look at the example of Instagram, there are many people who would say TikTok is better, and when it comes to Google search, well, there are less biased search engines. You see, when it comes to being the only one that provides a service, you can afford to stop caring about who's actually using it, because you know they have nowhere else to go. Which is why competition, more than anything else, is important for you, the customer.  

If you only had T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T to choose from (sadly, the reality for our Canadian friends), they certainly would try to compete with each other, but their prices would remain high, innovation would stay low, and overall, you’d still be stuck with close to $100/month phone bill. But luckily, there are other options.  

Competition = Affordability  

Having choices means having more affordable choices. In the early 2000s, Sprint and Verizon started offering unlimited plans for phones that came with restrictions, a lot of fine print, and a price tag of $100/month. It wasn’t until Boost Mobile came along with their version of an unlimited plan for $50/month that the idea of truly unlimited plans really took off, forcing T-Mobile to come up with their own – their “Un-carrier” plan – with no contracts or overages, and the rest was, well, history. Nowadays, while the Big 3’s unlimited data plans will still cost you over $60, other prepaid carriers are offering it for less than $30. 

Competition not only gives people more options at different budgets, but it also forces companies to get more creative, like offering the first phone service that’s completely free wink wink, ultimately forcing everyone else in the market to follow. So, remember – don’t settle for the name you know just because you know it. There is more than likely a better deal out there for you if you’re willing to find it.