With the recent discussion over the pros/cons of net neutrality, I've seen more than a few posts talk about the fact that companies such as Netflix/Facebook/Google/Amazon don't necessarily need preferred access from ISPs/telcos to maintain a monopoly. Instead, the posts assert that network effects are responsible for the monopoly -- the value of the service comes from the fact that your friends/family/acquaintances also use the service, and hence you will too.<p>To my understanding, in a traditional monopoly, such as Standard Oil, the way to break-up the monopoly is to break the company itself into smaller chunks that newcomers can more easily compete with. But how would that work for a Netflix/Facebook/Google/Amazon? If the network effects are that strong, what's the equivalent "chunking" action?<p>I'm assuming monopolies are bad in general and would rather not get into that discussion. My question is how to break up a monopoly that exists not from price fixing/vertical integration but rather from network effects.