We buy them, download their apps, upload personal information to them, take selfies with, share feelings to and disclose our locations, trading connection and convenience for targeted advertising and more. Ours is a digital era, delivered to us by the Gods of Amazon, Facebook, and Google. But in spite of these benefits bestowed upon us by this new technological era, the dreaded “M” word hangs on the lips of some.
Monopoly.
It’s borderline sacrilege to argue against the benefits these major tech corporations provide, but some are beginning to wonder if tech giants today are growing too big to be trusted.
Jonathan Taplin is one such individual, and has the expertise to support his opinion. According to Bloomberg he came up with video streaming before YouTube made it popular and also managed the Annenberg Innovation Lab at USC. He’s authored a book titled Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy. It’s safe to say he knows digital media and the industry, so his claims of Google being close to a monopoly like Bell was with the telephone in the 1950’s are worth considering.
It also raises some questions:
Much in the same way banks were bailed out after the 2007 financial crisis, could tech companies follow suit under “too big to fail guidelines?” Is the tech sector on it’s way to becoming eligible for taxpayer dollars if they start to collapse?
Competition is healthy and needed in a free market, it drives innovation. But hindering these companies as they grow could delay our efforts to advance and progress technologically. Or drive them to other nations without anti trust laws in place. Do we need to chain the giants, or will the benefits of these companies bring us into a brave new world where everyone is better for it? Check out Bloomberg’s business article Here, and decide for yourself.
Just don’t let the tech gods know you clicked the link and read it.
