> haven't we learned already that any government regulation always ends up favoring the status quo
Not at all. A ton of government regulation is to fix an ongoing problem by changing the status quo. Meatpacking regulations after "The Jungle". The EPA, Clean Air and Clean Water act. Mandatory seat belt laws. The list of "government saw problem, fixed with regulation" is huge.
In particular, with FB/Google, the status quo might crumble without ads. Or maybe they'll go to less targeted ads and only make a ridiculous amount of money instead of an insane amount.
All the examples you brought are from things where the "changes" did not threaten the industries involved or helped consolidate the market into an oligopoly. They pretty much favored the status quo.
Not at all. A ton of government regulation is to fix an ongoing problem by changing the status quo. Meatpacking regulations after "The Jungle". The EPA, Clean Air and Clean Water act. Mandatory seat belt laws. The list of "government saw problem, fixed with regulation" is huge.
In particular, with FB/Google, the status quo might crumble without ads. Or maybe they'll go to less targeted ads and only make a ridiculous amount of money instead of an insane amount.