The Huge Hidden World Costs (>$1.5T) Of U.S. Cyberspace Industrial Policy

As the writer notes inwards his 'about me':

Scott Cleland served every bit Deputy United States of America Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy inwards the George H. W. Bush Administration. He is President of Precursor LLC, an internetization consultancy specializing inwards how the Internet affects competition, markets, the economy, as well as policy,...

We've linked to Precursor a few times, Mr. Cleland takes a dim persuasion of the development of the platform companies.
This is business office 29 of what has turned out to last a flake of a series presentation.

From the Precursor Blog:

This postal service introduces a novel white newspaper here alongside a first-of-its-kind, cost-estimation model of the cumulative hidden populace costs of United States of America Internet industrial policy* entitled: “Internet Platform Corporate Welfare as well as Leechonomics.” *U.S. Internet-first, industrial policy inwards the 1996 Telecom Act, effectively exempted entirely Internet companies from: all United States of America communications law, regulation, as well as populace responsibilities; normal non-communications Federal/State regulation; as well as normal civil liability for what happens via their platforms as well as concern models.

Nutshell Summary: Sweeping Government exemptions as well as immunities from risks as well as costs overwhelmingly favor zero-sum, parasitic policy arbitrage as well as corporate welfare, which perversely fosters unproductive “leechonomics.” United States of America Internet policy most incents platform concern that maximizes arbitrage spreads, i.e. taking maximal societal peril that un-immunized competitors can’t take, where the benefits tin last capitalized past times platforms, as well as the costs socialized to the populace (>$1.5T), because the authorities has entirely exempted as well as immunized platforms from normal accountability as well as responsibleness for consumer welfare.  

White Paper’s Executive Summary: This white paper’s estimation of the hidden populace costs of United States of America Internet industrial policy shows that Internet platforms are far from costless of populace costs as well as risks to the consumer. It likewise shows that Internet platforms are non predicated on costless marketplace economics, but on a pernicious policy of corporate welfare as well as zero-sum, parasitic policy arbitrage that fosters unproductive “leechonomics.”

The evidence hither quantifies how the online infinite is non what many intend it is, a costless market, but a favored market, where United States of America Government policy effectively stands on scales of contest to favor winner-take-all Internet platforms over everyone else.

This initial gauge starts an ongoing estimation procedure of the hidden populace costs of United States of America Internet policy, past times simply focusing commencement on America’s best-known, dominant Internet platforms: Amazon, Google, as well as Facebook, to bear witness that they are non actually every bit free, or every bit depression terms to the public, every bit conventional wisdom has been led to believe.

A conservative gauge of the hidden risks as well as costs that United States of America Internet policy affords Amazon, Google as well as Facebook to non-transparently as well as effectively offload to the public, consumers, taxpayers, competitors as well as suppliers, every bit hidden off-ledger, unacknowledged populace liabilities, is roughly $1.5 trillion over the end 2 decades. That would last almost $4,900 for every American, or the equivalent of over 70% of these platforms’ 1-1-2018 marketplace cap value. In short, United States of America Internet policy causes particular anticompetitive distortions inwards the economy....MORE

Some previous posts:
September 2017
"Facebook, Google And Amazon Wield Power Over Us All, And Everyone Should Be Worried" (AMZN; FB; GOOG)
Readers may recall the writer of this piece, Scott Cleland, from our links to his personal blog, Precursor.*
Here he is at BuzzFeed:...
*Aug 21
"How the Internet Cartel Won the Internet as well as The Internet Competition Myth"
June 25
"Why Amazon Buying Whole Foods Will Attract Serious Antitrust Scrutiny"
June 2
"Why U.S.A. Antitrust Non-Enforcement Produces Online Winner-Take-All Platforms"
June 11
"Why European Union Monopoly Search Ruling Will Be a Tipping Point for Alphabet-Google" (GOOG)
Feb 27 
"Long-winded oral communication could last early on sign of Alzheimer's disease, says study"