Not so long ago, Silicon Valley was America’s pride and joy. Google, Facebook, and Apple represented the best of America—our drive to innovate, to dare, to dream. But the winds have decidedly shifted in the last year or two, as Big Tech’s enormous wealth and power have become apparent. The numbers are startling: together, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook, and Amazon have a market value of $3.5 trillion. They also dominate their respective markets: eighty percent of the world’s searches are done on Google, seventy-seven percent of mobile social media occurs on Facebook, and Amazon has cornered the e-book market—and reached its tentacles into much else besides. Then there’s the question of Big Tech’s influence on our democracy, as the continuing controversy over Facebook’s role in the 2016 election demonstrates. Has Big Tech taken on monopolistic tendencies, stifling competition and innovation? Are these tech darlings big enough to necessitate increased regulation or perhaps even antitrust action? Is it time to break up Big Tech?
