Actually it’s a very small group of very large businesses. And so what. There’s a whole lotta internet out there. Actually it is just like the Red Hen, Jones CAN take his business elsewhere. Facebook is NOT the only social media site, Apple is NOT the only podcast source, Youtube is NOT the only video site.
Jones isn’t going to wind up rich from this. If he sues he will lose. It’s right there in the EULAs, all these places assume ownership of content you put on their site. It is theirs to do with as they please. They can redistribute it, they can sell it, they can cull it for information, and they can delete it. What they did he, or his representatives, AGREED they could do. They are free to ban your content ANYTIME, cause it’s their site, and you agreed to it in the EULA. There is no restraint of trade, and they aren’t monopolies. The DOJ won’t touch this.
Name the equal to Google.
And the equal to Facebook.
Without going down the list of those who colluded, there are none.
And there are financial institutions who also have joined in.
As for agreeing to be raped, the law is that a contract based on illegality is not enforceable.
I don't know the answer, but I will bet it is tested in court.
As I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with a company deciding it does not want a customer but there is a lot wrong with a long list of companies who offer similar services colluding to lock a business out of all services that business requires to operate.
And even if it is ruled that there has been no law broken, that does not prevent Jones from demonstrating in civil court that their actions have caused him loss of profits. And the killer will be that it was an intentional act designed to ruin his business.
As for your love for the 2nd Amendment, I doubt that it i s equal to mine and you should be aware that this same
technique is being applied to all of the major players in the gun industry, from the smallest gun store to the big manufacturers.
Some credit card companies are refusing to honor charges made to them and some banks are canceling loan agreements. I have read of several cases where the gun retailer had his charges refused after the customer was gone, leaving the store holding the bag. An empty bag.
At a time when the industry is booming, it is obvious these actions are not due to credit ratings, but due to politics.
Big corporations who control large shares of the market have to be very careful about entering into agreements with their competitors. That can get them in deep doo-doo.
I have said my piece and I am done.