- cross-posted to:
- games@sh.itjust.works
- legalnews@lemmy.zip
- cross-posted to:
- games@sh.itjust.works
- legalnews@lemmy.zip
Valve Corporation is being accused of using its market dominance to overcharge 14 million people in the UK.
“Valve is rigging the market and taking advantage of UK gamers,” said digital rights campaigner Vicki Shotbolt, who is bringing the case.
The issue is much bigger than this and much bigger than valve.
The underlying problem are nation state sized companies that are so vertically integrated that they profit from every step of the process they are involved in.
Through their huge size they have the power to profit on procurement, labor, production, sales, etc. compared to smaller companies. The concept of billion dollar companies (and individuals) is perverse.
The capitalist system was not designed to harbour companies that never make a loss and are sold or broken up just because they dont satisfy last quarter‘s predictions.
Everywhere where joe or jane average cant start a competing business (either through overzealous regulations like tiny banks or through monopoly inducing IP laws like the one allowing valve to infinitely hold games hostage) you will have overcharging, barely any progress in development and small numbers of people ridicolously raking in profits.
We need to get rid of the right to „sell“ limited licenses, billion dollar companies and shareholder primacy.