Senator Returns To Advancing Break-up of Big Tech Firms
In speech, Warren came back to theme from her presidential bid
Technology titans aren’t feeling much love from Washington DC these days.
From the right, big social media providers like Facebook and Twitter have come under scrutiny — and proposed regulations — over supposed bias and “censorship” of conservative voices in favor of more progressive and Democratic ones.
Meanwhile, the same companies — and others — find themselves targets from the left as too large, monopolistic and predatory.
It was on this basis that Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) took on tech firms like Amazon, Facebook and Google as part of her run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
And it's a theme she picked up again this week, with remarks at Freedom From Facebook and Google's virtual event calling to break up Big Tech.
Warren noted how 30 years ago these companies didn't exist, but today are indispensable in the lives of average people.
There's great success in that — but also the dangers of monopolies and anti-competitive actions, said Warren, who focused on law and the economy before joining the Senate in 2013.
“Today's Big Tech companies have grown so giant and so powerful that they threaten our economy, our society, and our very democracy. They have bulldozed competition, used private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else,” she said. “In the process, they have stifled small businesses and innovation. And they have threatened our democratic processes.
“We must hold these Big Tech companies accountable and break them up, so that there's real competition — and so that our democracy is not held hostage to their desire to make more and more money,” Warren added. “We need to make sure that the next generation of great American tech companies has a chance to grow and flourish.”
Warren pointed to a case involving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 states which found that Facebook engaged in anti-competitive behavior with its purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp.
“And this case demanding that Facebook unwind those purchases is a huge first step in the fight to break up Big Tech,” she said.
These tech companies require a broader landscape of regulations, according to Warren.
“As Big Tech companies like Facebook and Google face growing scrutiny, we have a huge opportunity in Congress to make big, structural change and to finally hold these powerful companies accountable,” she said. “We do that by enshrining strong antitrust principles into new legislation, we do that by reviving serious antitrust enforcement at both the FTC and the [federal Justice Department], and we do that by fighting monopolies in any industry that threaten our economy, our society, and our democracy.
“If we all make our voices heard, we can take power away from the wealthy and well-connected in Washington and we can put it back where it belongs -- in the hands of the people,” Warren added.