Symposium
Last updated on Aug 19, 2019
Over the past two years, numerous scholars and pundits have called for aggressive regulation of “Big Tech” companies, including Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. Some have called for them to be broken up. Meanwhile, governments in several jurisdictions, including the EU and Germany, have brought antitrust cases against several “Big Tech” companies, although so far they have not sought to impose structural remedies that would amount to an explicit breakup. U.S. authorities have taken numerous antitrust actions already and are considering more.
Much of the discussion of how to regulate “Big Tech” — and especially the discussion around “breaking up Big Tech” — has been heavy on rhetoric and light on substance. The topic has become politicized and is dominated by non-expert, ideologically-driven opinion.
At TOTM, we seek to correct this market distortion by offering a more balanced discussion of the issue. To that end, we have invited a number of respected economists, legal scholars, and practitioners to offer perspectives on the matter. Already up are posts by: Prof. Randal C. Picker, Dr. Philip Marsden, Prof. John Lopatka, and Pallavi Guniganti. We will be posting more over the coming days and weeks. Among the topics being explored are:
- What harms, if any, can be demonstrably attributed to “Big Tech” firms that might justify regulatory intervention (including but not limited to antitrust)?
- Would it be appropriate to “break up” large tech firms in response to feared harms?
- Is “break up” even possible? For instance, what would it even mean to break Facebook up into a “messaging platform” and a “social platform”?
- What costs might result from imposing structural remedies? (Of note: Might such remedies make platforms less useful to consumers — e.g. If a search engine cannot link directly to content it detects as most relevant, or if a social platform cannot include messaging?)
- Are there other remedies that would have net benefits to consumers? Or would it be better to leave “Big Tech” alone for now?
In This Symposium
Breaking up Amazon? Platforms, Private Labels and Entry
[This post is the first in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?” that will feature analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by Randal C. Picker, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at The University of Chicago Law School] The European Commission just announced that it ... Breaking up Amazon? Platforms, Private Labels and Entry
Breaking Up: “It’s Not You, It’s Me”, “Maybe We Should See Other People” and “with or without You”
[This post is the second in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?” that will feature analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by Philip Marsden, Bank of England & College of Europe, IG/Twitter: @competition_flaneur] Since the release of our Furman Report, I have been blessed with an uptick in #antitrusttourism. ... Breaking Up: “It’s Not You, It’s Me”, “Maybe We Should See Other People” and “with or without You”
Big Tech and Antitrust
[This post is the third in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?” that will feature analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by John E. Lopatka, Robert Noll Distinguished Professor of Law, School of Law, The Pennsylvania State University] Big Tech firms stand accused of many evils, and ... Big Tech and Antitrust
Separation without a Breakup
[This post is the fourth in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?“that features analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by Pallavi Guniganti, editor of Global Competition Review.] Start with the assumption that there is a problem The European Commission and Austria’s Federal Competition Authority are investigating Amazon ... Separation without a Breakup
Breaking up Facebook Would Be a Technical and Organizational Nightmare — and Would Almost Certainly Harm Consumers
[This post is the fifth in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?” that features analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by William Rinehart, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at American Action Forum.] Back in May, the New York Times published an op-ed by Chris Hughes, one ... Breaking up Facebook Would Be a Technical and Organizational Nightmare — and Would Almost Certainly Harm Consumers
Should We Break Up Big Tech? A Look Behind the (Political) Scenes
[This post is the sixth in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?” that features analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by Thibault Schrepel, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Center at Harvard University and Assistant Professor in European Economic Law at Utrecht University School of Law.] The pretense ... Should We Break Up Big Tech? A Look Behind the (Political) Scenes
Why Don’t People Talk About Breaking Up Microsoft?
[This post is the seventh in an ongoing symposium on “Should We Break Up Big Tech?” that features analysis and opinion from various perspectives.] [This post is authored by Alec Stapp, Research Fellow at the International Center for Law & Economics] Should we break up Microsoft? In all the talk of breaking up “Big Tech,” ... Why Don’t People Talk About Breaking Up Microsoft?