이중반룡의 게임애가
泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌
[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]
Who is a data monopolist?
August. 29. 2018.
I recently read an article in which the Korea Communications Commission has launched policy developments to respond to data monopoly of companies including Google, Facebook, and Amazon etc. It also said that Google has been hit with €4.34 billion fine by EU regulators for forcing Android device manufacturers to load search engine and browser and KCC let their policy stand in the way of rectifying 'tilted playground' between multinational Internet content providers and local content corporations. I may be a person with a narrow outlook on the issue, but it doesn't give me a satisfactory explanation.
Before anything else, a monopoly exists when a specific person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. And an oligopoly is a market in which control over the supply of a commodity is in the hands of a few sellers. If a few large producers collude, it is no different from the monopolization and both can be distorted by a small number of suppliers.
I notice something strange here. Google specializes in Internet search engine. According to data by Opensurvey earlier this year, Naver ranked first with the largest market share at 75 percent and Google controlled about 12 percent of the entire market. So it does not make sense to take an issue with Google's monopoly.
As I said in the last column about net neutrality, a few Internet service providers, who provide services for accessing and using in the Internet, own one hundred percent of data supply. I don't understand why the Korea Communications Commission blames data monopoly on Internet content providers, a web portal or organization that handles the distribution of online content. Monopoly or oligopoly can be a problem when there is no alternative but to choose among a small number of suppliers. Alternative exist, no one could take issue with customer's choice. Even If this is problematic, KCC should have examine the No. 1 company first.
The penalty, which European Union imposed on Google, is not related to data. The multinational technology company has been slapped a record antitrust fine for abusing the dominance of its Android mobile operating system requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome apps on devices. European Union's decision is to fine for abusing internet search in the smartphone market with limited number of suppliers. It's not about data monopoly, which users use.
If the article is true, the policy development of KCC is to protect a few local corporations and is against government policy that I expected to the new government. As I mentioned earlier data can not be monopolized. Using the term 'data monopoly' to international content providers entered South Korean market is not that different from the scarlet letter. I hope that my apprehensions, which KCC colluded with local Internet service providers and market-dominating content providers intends to build 'tilted playground', won't realize.
※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.
(http://www.khgames.co.kr)
Translation by Kim Ki-hui
