Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (which owns Google), and Facebook—known in the tech world as the Big Four—are among the largest and most profitable companies in the world, and they’ve been accustomed to the laxest of oversight from Washington. But the climate may have shifted in a significant way. The Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and the House Judiciary Committee are all investigating different aspects of the Big Four; Elizabeth Warren has made breaking up these companies a cornerstone of her Presidential campaign. Sue Halpern, a New Yorker contributor, sounds a cautious note about these developments. Current antitrust law doesn’t well fit the nature of these businesses, and breaking up the companies will not necessarily solve underlying issues, like the lack of privacy law. In a twist, Halpern says, the Big Four are now asking the federal government for more regulation—because, she explains to David Remnick, the companies’ lobbyists can sway Washington more easily than they can influence state governments like California, which just passed a rigorous data-privacy law similar to the European Union’s. “They’re being called to account. They have to do something,” she notes, “but they want to direct the conversation so that, ultimately, they still win.”
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The New Yorker Radio Hour
David Remnick Talks with Robert Caro, a Living Legend Among Nonfiction Writers
The celebrated historian and biographer talks about himself for a change; and Sue Halpern considers whether Big Tech’s honeymoon with Washington is over.
Tech
Facebook’s False Standards for Not Removing a Fake Nancy Pelosi Video
When a company that operates a platform with more than two billion users takes a value-free position on propaganda, ancillary perils and threats will follow.
By Sue Halpern
Daily Comment
The House Judiciary Committee Considers Antitrust Law, the Tech Giants, and the Future of News
Google, Facebook, and their cousins Apple and Amazon have grown so vast that they have aroused the ire of the entire political establishment. And they aren’t only transforming journalism but also politics, retail, and virtually all commerce.
By Jeffrey Toobin
Comment
Donald Trump’s Very Busy Court Calendar
The first criminal trial of a former President starts this week. After all the legal posturing, the action will finally get real—that’s the theory, anyway.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin