“Break up big tech” - Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Priya Wadhwa
Tech
Published:

“Break up big tech” - Sen. Elizabeth Warren

2020 US presidential candidate joins the debate.

“Big tech companies have too much power.” This is a growing sentiment across the world, between individual customers, startup founders, as well as governments.

The big push from the government, has led to the US Justice Department probing into the workings of Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook for antitrust issues.

This growing sentiment is resonating so strongly given the recent data privacy scandals, that it has become a major political standpoint in light of upcoming US elections.

Senetor Elizabeth Warren, 2020 presidential candidate is leading the way in this sphere more strongly than the others. She has put a giant billboard in San Francisco (the tech startups hub), calling for the break up of giant tech firms, such as FAAMG.

They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation. Elizabeth’s plan would help ensure tech giants do not crowd out potential competitors, smother the next generation of great tech companies, and wield so much power that they can undermine our democracy.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s aide

The billboard is bang in the spot for its core audience. Located right next to Caltrain stop, where majority of the South Bay’s tech workers arrive every morning, just blocks away from the headquarters of most startups in the city. Big tech is increasingly making is harder for smaller ones to compete—a complaint shared by many in the tech field.

Breaking up the tech companies might be a far cry from practical possibilities. In a capitalist market, it is almost impossible to force companies to change and break up. The only way out is to have regulation on its business practices. This will affect the market in the short term as stocks decline, another factor that could lead to a much-feared recession.

Read more about Warren’s billboard asking people to join her fight against the big tech here.