Many moons ago, indeed 14 years ago, I wrote an article about how Amazon.com violates the principles of a marketplace and acts like a superstore instead. Nobody in the government paid attention.
Until now, TechCrunch reports how Italy has slapped Amazon with a sizable fine, soon to be followed by other European countries. Should I again remind you how technology is used as an excuse to access the unprotected backdoor to nation-state sovereignty?
I love the convenience of Amazon.com, but it should be held to strict free-market principles so it offers equal access to its platform to anyone who wants to sell. Technology should not be used as an excuse to circumvent free trade.
Government organizations asleep at the wheel for no less than 14 years have destroyed a lot of free-market pretense. At what point will we realize digital commerce is no different than analog, with freedom of any kind requiring paradoxical rules to maintain integrity and value?
It is good that European regulators are waking up, but the damage has been done when a theory of trade does not precede post-mortem rules of trade.
