Hypocrisy: Rupert Murdoch Has Always Hated Antitrust; But Now He Wants It Used Against Internet Companies Who Out Innovated Him

from the the-cronyiest-of-capitalists dept

It's no secret that Rupert Murdoch is an extreme hypocrite. He spent decades railing against any kind of regulatory powers to hold back companies, but as soon as his own attempts to build an internet empire flopped dramatically, he's come around to being a major booster of regulatory crackdowns. Just only against the companies who out-innovated him. For years now he's been demanding that governments force the internet companies to pay him money -- a move that has been successful in his home country of Australia.

The latest is that Murdoch, who built his business empire by buying up competitors and doing everything possible to avoid antitrust authorities, is now a major force behind supporting antitrust efforts -- so long as they're aimed at the internet companies. When the Democrats released their 5 antitrust proposals last week, each one (perhaps somewhat surprisingly) had a Republican co-sponsor. That appears to have been thanks to Murdoch:

Fox Corp. and News Corp. lobbyists have been urging GOP members to support the bills this week, according to people familiar with the efforts, with two sources saying there could be as many as 3 to 4 GOP co-sponsors on each bill. Talks are ongoing....

Say what you want about Rupert Murdoch, but the idea that he's a free marketer and against regulations is nonsense. That was only true when the regulations involved his companies. Now that he's failed to innovate, he's spent the last decade demanding that governments punish the companies who actually competed better than he did. He's the cronyist of the crony capitalists.

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Filed Under: antitrust, competition, congress, innovation, rupert murdoch
Companies: news corp.