Under anti-trust law, the US government cracked down on booksellers forming a united front against Apple to keep their prices high (or according their lights, reasonable). Seems simple enough. But here’s what some people say its implications are:
“We’re at a moment when cultural power is passing to new gatekeepers,” said Joe Esposito, a publishing consultant. “Heaven forbid that we should have the government telling our entrepreneurs what to do, but there is a social policy issue here. We don’t want the companies to become a black hole that absorbs all light except their own.”
The Justice Department’s case against Apple and major book publishers will have little immediate impact on the selling of books. But it might be a long time before publishers try to take charge of their fate again in such a bold fashion. Drawing the attention of the government once was bad enough; twice could be a disaster.
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