A new commodity brings about a highly profitable, fast-growing industry, urging antitrust regulators to step in to check those who control its flow. A century ago, the resource in question was oil. Now similar concerns ares being raised by the giants that deal in data, the oil of the digital age. The most valuable firms are Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. All look unstoppable.
一种新商品带来了一个高利润、快速增长的行业，促使反垄断监管机构介入，检查那些操控流量的人。一个世纪前，有问题的资源是石油。现在，数字时代的石油——数据巨头也提出了类似的担忧。最有价值的公司是谷歌、亚马逊、脸书和微软，所有看起来势不可挡。
Such situations have led to calls for the tech giants to be broken up. But size alone is not a crime. The giants’ success has benefited consumers. Few want to live without search engines or a quick delivery. Far from charging consumers high prices, many of these services are free (users pay, in effect, by handing over yet more data). And the appearance of new-born giants suggests that newcomers can make waves, too.
这种情况导致了拆分科技巨头的呼声，但规模本身并不是犯罪。这些巨头的成功使消费者受益，很少有人愿意在没有搜索引擎或快速的情况下生活。很多服务并没有向消费者收取高昂费用，反而是免费的（实际上，用户用更多的数据来支付费用）。新生巨人的出现表明，新来者也能掀起波澜。
But there is cause for concern. The internet has made data abundant, all-present and far more valuable, changing the nature of data and competition. Google initially used the data collected from users to target advertising better. But recently it has discovered that data can be turned into new services: translation and visual recognition, to be sold to other companies. Internet companies’ control of data gives them enormous power. So they have a “God’s eye view” of activities in their own markets and beyond.
但也有理由感到担忧。互联网使数据变得丰富、普遍且更有价值，改变了数据和竞争的本质。谷歌最初使用从用户那里收集的数据来更好地定位广告，但最近它发现，数据可以转化为新的服务：转化和视觉识别，并出售给其他公司。互联网公司对数据的控制赋予了他们极大的权力。因此，他们对自己市场内外的活动有一种“上帝的视角”。
This nature of data makes the antitrust measures of the past less useful. Breaking up firms like Google into five small ones would not stop remaking themselves: in time, one of them would become great again. A rethink is required—and as a new approach starts to become apparent, two ideas stand out.
数据的本质使得过去的反垄断措施用处不大。将谷歌这样的公司拆分为五个小公司并不会让他们停止重塑自己：随着时间的推移，其中一家公司会再次变得伟大。需要重新思考，随着新方案开始变得明显，有两个想法脱颖而出。
The first is that antitrust authorities need to move form the industrial age into the 21st century. When considering a merger, for example, they have traditionally used size to determine when to step in. They now need to take into account the extent of firms'data assets when assessing the impact of deals. The purchase price could also be a signal that an established company is buying a new-born threat. When this takes place, especially when a new-born company has no revenue to speak of, the regulators should raise red flags.
首先，反垄断机构需要从工业时代进入21世纪。考虑兼并时，例如，他们传统上用规模来决定何时介入。现在在评估交易的影响时，他们需要考虑公司数据资产的规模。收购价格也可能是一个信号，表明一家老牌公司正在收购一个新生的威胁。当这种情况发生时，尤其是当一家新生公司没有收入可言时，监管机构应该发出危险信号。
The second principle is to loosen the control that providers of on-line services have over data and give more to those who supply them. Companies could be forced to consumers what information they hold and how many money they make form it. Govemments could order the sharing of certain kinds of data, with users' consent.
第二个原则是放松对在线服务提供商对数据的控制，并向提供数据的人提供更多。公司可能会被迫告诉消费者他们持有什么信息，从中赚了多少钱。政府可以在征得用户同意的情况下下令共享某些类型的数据。
Restarting antitrust for the information age will not be easy. But if govemments don't wants a data oconomy by a few giants, they must act soon.
在信息时代重启反垄断并不容易。但如果政府不希望少数巨头进行数据垄断，必须尽快采取行动。
网友评论