I’m working my way through the CMA report and like last time around, there is a lot of cringe worthy commentary. 1/n https://twitter.com/WillRinehart/status/1278358506786164741

For example the CMA report says, "Media agencies and most advertisers have told us that search and display
advertising are not substitutable, mainly because they perform different roles.” It would be nice to have data on this, not just statements by advertisers. 2/n

This paper is literally one of the first hits on using Google (!) scholar search: "We find display advertising influences customer search for both the advertised brand and its competitors.” https://bit.ly/2YQtB4I  3/n

The CMA report also states that "in a well-functioning market, consumers might be offered a reward for their engagement online.”

Pay-to-surf companies failed in the dot com crash. Meanwhile I think Datacoup and Handshake exist. The idea doesn’t work well in practice. 4/n

This from the CMA makes me want to smash my head in: “The profitability of both Google and Facebook has been well above what is required to reward investors with a fair return for many years.”

Both companies are within the bounds of the IT sector: https://bit.ly/2YSHQG8 . 5/n

BAHAHAHAHAHA.

@CMAgovUK: "We have also heard concerns that large platforms use data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a justification for restricting access to valuable data for third parties…”

WHO.
COULD.
HAVE.
KNOWN?!