Technology

Is the FTC saying it’s “Game Over”​ for Big Tech?

game over

The FTC recently sent this tweet from their Twitter account:

Government agencies don’t haphazardly announce who they’re investigating. By the time they make their investigations public, quite a bit of preliminary work has already been done. What the FTC is saying to Big Tech is that they’re on notice.

The game was fun, but it’s over now. After so many chances at the arcade cabinet, it’s no longer Big Tech’s turn. Not only is the game over, the game itself has gotten old. It’s time for a new one.

What game are we talking about? The game of acquiring start-ups. Amazon, Apple, Google, et al., have gobbled up all potential competitors in their march towards their $1 trillion valuations. And they’re doing it at the expense of consumers.

Why is the FTC changing the game now?

The FTC is under tremendous pressure to prove it has teeth. For too long, it’s been accused of being a lame duck agency of ineffectiveness. Many members of Senate are running out of patience and are threatening to fold the FTC into the Department of Justice.

No doubt, the FTC is a big reason that Big Tech is allowed to exist. As Facebook gobbled up Instagram and WhatsApp, the FTC allowed it to happen. While the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion for privacy violations, the largest fine in FTC history, monetary penalties can only do so much.

If Big Tech continues to play the same game of startup acquisitions, nothing changes. When all potential competitors are eliminated through buy-outs, consumers lack choice. Since the FTC’s motto is “Protecting America’s consumers,” it’s time to pull the plug entirely on the game.

Big Tech should be afraid, very afraid

Between 2010-19, according to Gizmodo, the five Big Tech companies comprising Apple, Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook have gobbled up 460 outside firms. Of these 460 firms, Alphabet alone has acquired 181 of them.

To put this in perspective, only appr. 3,600 companies are listed on U.S. stock exchanges. If all acquired startups by Big Tech had an IPO, they’d comprise just over 11% of American stock market listings. As it currently stands, the five Big Tech companies are worth 18% of the stock market’s entire current valuation.

Every game must end. Politicians want to pull the plug on Big Tech, and they soon may get their wish. 50 state attorneys general are participating in antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, with more likely to come.

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” say kids nowadays. Sure, it may not be Big Tech’s fault that they’ve had success through start-up acquisitions. Blame the game.

But it’s now “Game Over” because the game is changing.

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