<story><title>Is the US about to split the internet?</title><url>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53686390</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>erklik</author><text>From a non-developed world viewpoint, is it even possible for China&amp;#x2F;India etc to have there companies grow to such a massive size to rival Facebook, Micrisoft etc without protecting them from multi-nationals with way more immense power and the capacity to simply buy companies?&lt;p&gt;Ala, Facebook bought Instagram. If there was no such restriction, could they not have just bought Tencent in its infancy?&lt;p&gt;Essentially ensuring that currently countries that have not developed will continually never develop.</text></item><item><author>msandford</author><text>Hasn&amp;#x27;t China already gone halfway to that by putting up the Great Firewall and strongly funding local &amp;quot;copycats&amp;quot; of many companies that were founded and based in the US?&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not suggesting that what the US is planning is good!  I think it&amp;#x27;s not great.  But it doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to be a pre-emptive thing that&amp;#x27;s being done.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>dragonelite</author><text>Just look at the EU and you have your answer about protecting your young markets.</text></comment>
<story><title>Is the US about to split the internet?</title><url>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53686390</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>erklik</author><text>From a non-developed world viewpoint, is it even possible for China&amp;#x2F;India etc to have there companies grow to such a massive size to rival Facebook, Micrisoft etc without protecting them from multi-nationals with way more immense power and the capacity to simply buy companies?&lt;p&gt;Ala, Facebook bought Instagram. If there was no such restriction, could they not have just bought Tencent in its infancy?&lt;p&gt;Essentially ensuring that currently countries that have not developed will continually never develop.</text></item><item><author>msandford</author><text>Hasn&amp;#x27;t China already gone halfway to that by putting up the Great Firewall and strongly funding local &amp;quot;copycats&amp;quot; of many companies that were founded and based in the US?&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not suggesting that what the US is planning is good!  I think it&amp;#x27;s not great.  But it doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to be a pre-emptive thing that&amp;#x27;s being done.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>votepaunchy</author><text>The US had the opportunity to stop the purchase of Instagram, just as aching could have stopped any purchase of Tencent.</text></comment>