Mauro Masi’s Memo for Adnkronos
Over the top. The global climate seems to be starting to change for the Over The Tops (the “above all” companies – almost all American – who have set the standards in recent years and manage the platforms on which the Internet is based). After years of a “free and wild” Internet in which there were good times and bad times, both in Europe and in America the institutions are trying to activate tools to better control (or at least influence) the development of the Internet. A few days ago the EU Commission has announced that six platforms – 5 American: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft and a Chinese ByteDance (Tik Tok) – will have to apply more stringent rules to guarantee the free market in the Digital sector Market Act. Companies now have six months to adapt to the new regulation which, among other things, provides for the overcoming of the practice whereby operating system producers totally govern the management of apps on devices through their stores. In the event that the companies indicated do not comply with EU rules, the Commission will be able to impose fines of up to 10% of their annual “turnover”. More or less in the same days, the US Government’s proceedings against Google accused of violating Antitrust regulations began in Washington. The Department of Justice essentially accuses Big G of having paid around 45 billion dollars a year to manufacturers (Apple; Samsung; Lg; Motorola and others) to ensure that its search engine was the default in mobile phones and web browsers. Google does not deny these facts but believes that the agreements entered into were “legitimate competition and not illicit exclusion”. The trial is expected to last no less than ten weeks and the designated single federal judge (Amit Mehta) is unlikely to rule before next year. If unsuccessful, the risk that Google will be broken up (as in the AT and T and Microsoft cases in the recent past) is quite high. Today Big G controls over 90% of our search engine market in the USA alone and generates revenues of approximately 283 billion dollars per year.
Rolling stones. The Rolling Stones’ new album “Hackney Diamonds” will be released worldwide on October 20th (the first since the death of the historic drummer Charlie Watts). The first song from the album “Angry” is already online with a video in which the Stones sing with their faces from fifty years ago making a breathtaking blonde (Sydney Sweeney, young Hollywood star) dance on the bonnet of a moving car ). What to say? From what we have been able to hear, the Stones’ sound is still the same fascinating and engaging and Jagger’s voice even seems to be that of “Satisfaction”; You really don’t know whether to admire these lively and bold 80-year-olds or honestly feel sorry for them.
Rothschild. Last September 13, the family of David de Rothschild (French branch of the historic dynasty) exceeded the threshold of 95.65% of the capital of its investment bank following the takeover bid opened on the institution. The family will own over 50% of the capital, the allies (the historic families of French capitalism the Dassaults, the Peugeots; the Wertheimers – owners of Chanel – and the Italian Giammaria Giuliani of the pharmaceutical group of the same name) 35%; a remaining 10% is in the hands of the 120 managing partners of the house who also side with the family. Now, as required by law (for a unit ownership of over 90%) there will be mandatory delisting and exit from the stock exchange after two centuries. Furthermore, the name Rothschild recurs on the Internet these days for very different themes and reasons. In fact, a book with the peculiar title “Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories” by journalist Mike Rothschild (just a namesake, nothing to do with the family) has just been released in the USA and UK. It tells the story of militant anti-Semitism and how some of the most widespread “conspiracy theories” were born from this. Among these, some dating back very far in time which identified the Rothschid family as a sort of hidden puppeteer behind many historical events and all with the aim of getting richer and richer. In this regard, beyond the ridiculousness of many conspiracy theories, it would be enough to mention a fact – under everyone’s eyes – the current masters of the Internet: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerbeg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates in, more or less, ten years have accumulated riches that double or triple those collected by all the Rothschilds in three centuries. Who are the puppeteers?? (From Mauro Masi)
Source-www.adnkronos.com