Big Tech Backlash Means Get Ready for Less Free Stuff
Tech giants may be less inclined to offer the freebies we’ve come to expect now that they are in regulators’ sights.
The quest to rein in the power of Big Tech may have an unfortunate side effect for consumers.
Photographer: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images
Governments around the world are taking major steps to clamp down on the anticompetitive practices of large technology companies. But the quest to rein in the power of these giants may have an unfortunate side effect for consumers: less free stuff.
One of the common themes among global antitrust regulators is that Big Tech has been able to use its vast financial resources and platforms to stifle smaller competitors. Last month’s U.S. House antitrust report contended that big American technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. have abused their market power to hurt upstarts and extend their dominance into different markets. This month, China’s antitrust watchdog issued a set of draft regulations that included rules against internet platforms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. selling goods and services below cost, while the European Union said Amazon may have broken antitrust laws by using independent seller data on its marketplace to gain an advantage for its own products.