Comment by throwaway13337

I agree with you. They are in violation of a reasonable interpretation of anti-trust laws already on the books. It's quite clear. And yet those laws are not enforced.

You seem to be saying that there are a group of people who want it this way and they have more power so that is why is it the case.

But how did we get here? It's a complicated question for sure. And for anything that occurred like this, there are many answers depending on where you put the weights.

I put the weights cultural norms of the maybe 100s of thousands of people that had a hand in how we got here in varying degrees. The leaders of the companies of course who didn't get flack in their communities for doing something that was negative to the rest of society. The politicians who played along, the employees who were proud to work at such a place and the family that could be proud of them for it, even us users who sacrificed liberty for safety and convenience.

At every level, it's social norms that caused this to be.

We are, primarily, social creatures. Even the rich - maybe especially the rich - are greatly influenced in how they act by what those they respect think of it.