The age of Amazon is upon us: How one court battle reveals the growing threat of monopoly

Today, given that the central players in the Internet economy are middlemen – platforms that connect buyers and sellers – pricing laws will determine how the spoils get split. Internet platforms enjoy significant benefits, due to network effects and their collection of troves of data, which means producers are often dependent on a very small number of companies (or even one) to get to market. Leaving the right to price with the makers of goods – like authors and publishers – can help level the playing field between makers and middlemen.