On March 8, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) proposed breaking up the dominant tech companies — Amazon, Google, and Facebook, adding Apple to the list the following day. Under her plan, companies that offer an online marketplace and have an annual global revenue in excess of $25 billion would be classified as “platform utilities.” These companies would then be prohibited from owning both the platform and any marketplace participants. This would require separating, for example, Google’s ad exchange from its other businesses that interact with the exchange. The online platforms would also be prohibited from selling or sharing user data with third parties. Sen. Warren’s plan would create a private cause of action, in addition to empowering federal and state regulators. Smaller companies would also be required to engage in fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory dealings, but they would not be prohibited from owning market participants. Read more about Senator Warren’s proposal here.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
