Big tech finally faces regulation: it won’t be easy

The signs are that we’re approaching the moment when the big technology companies will face the enormous challenge of being put under some kind of regulation in their country of origin, the United States, which will affect their plans in other countries. With the exception of Microsoft, which first clashed with the regulatory authorities almost 20 years ago and now seems to have been let on the sidelines of the impending battle, the tech giants are now under scrutiny, and many aspects of their business are going to be affected.

What’s behind this desire by the authorities to bring them under control? First, the evidence that these companies have turned out to be frighteningly poor at self-regulation. One after another, the tech giants have displayed wanton irresponsibility, putting their users or their competitors at risk, breaching some of most foundational aspects of society such as privacy and even democracy itself.

What is coming to these companies now is an imminent action, not partisan, and executed at the highest level: the public prosecutors of several states, both Republican and Democrat, have begun investigations into these companies. In the spotlight are issues such as the management of their platforms and their competition strategies: how Apple manipulates its App Store to position its applications over others…