The Return of the Monopolies

Source: Sergey Nivens, Photoshopped: Sam Horn

JEC NASHVILLE — Over the past decade, technology has become a daily necessity. Current innovations have made it simpler to accomplish tasks that would take hours, days, or even months to complete. Regardless of the many benefits, some argue that big technology companies have taken control of people, the government, and the world.

Let's be honest, who doesn’t love that the press of a button delivers groceries to your door? Large chunks of time are restored to your day because technology eliminates the drive to shopping malls, grocery stores, or the local convenience store.

However, the true power and control of these technology companies have come into question. A recent 2020 hearing, held at Capital Hill, questioned the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google over their authority. The hearing concluded that these massive technology companies hold “monopoly power” (Fung 2020).

History of the Monopoly

However, history tells us that it’s not the first time that large companies have controlled the world. During the 19th and 20th centuries, manufacturing and economic powerhouses dominated the globe. Government bureaucrats succumbed to the monopolies because they received payments for passing pro-monopoly bills. By 1897, Andrew Carnegie, the owner of the U.S. Steel Company, owned the “entire steel industry” in the United States (History Central 2020). Nevertheless, over time, laws were passed including the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, to break up large economic monopolies, feeding small startups and businesses the chance to generate growth. Over time, these laws were strengthened in order to more effectively control the power of monopolies.

Amazon’s Global Takeover

Amazon, probably the most powerful economic monopoly of all, is not just an online shopping network. Jeff Bezos and his team, similar to Alphabet, the parent company of Google, have purchased many major companies, skyrocketing their income and global power (one of Amazon’s most recent purchases, Whole Foods, a grocer powerhouse, bought for $13.7 billion). Moreover, in the past few months of the pandemic, Amazon has boomed in global power. The Coronavirus Pandemic has forced people into lockdown, making technology like Amazon “essential” (Fung 2020).

Big Tech Censorship

Over recent years, media companies, and daily citizens posting on social media have been shocked over big tech monopolies (Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube, etc.) censoring their content. Few people have been outspoken over the censorship, believing it was some sort of “bad algorithm” in the tech companies’ restriction mode (George 2019).

PragerU, a small conservative Republican media company, has been fighting against big tech monopolies, like Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Youtube, over the censorship of their media. The lawsuit began over Youtube’s “Restricted Mode” (“Prager University v. YouTube: Ninth Circuit Dismissal Affirms YouTube’s Status as Private Forum”). PragerU claimed that Youtube is in violation of the First Amendment for restricting access to over one hundred videos covering topics ranging from “Are the Police Racist?” to “The Ten Commandments.” PragerU’s leading Attorney, Eric George, claimed the case against Youtube was over the most “fundamental freedom American’s have: Freedom of Speech…” George later stated that “All our freedoms — the very concept of freedom — springs from this right. Lose it, and we are no longer free — not as individuals and not as a nation.” Youtube claimed that these videos were “unsuitable for young people,” similar to the videos they would block containing violence or pornography. Eric George claimed that Youtube was not blocking their videos to “protect young people from inappropriate content,” but to “protect young people from ideas that Youtube disagrees with”(George 2019). Despite questions raised by this controversy, Youtube’s only further explanation for blocking the videos related to their right as a private company to control what content appears on their platform (“Prager University v. YouTube: Ninth Circuit Dismissal Affirms YouTube’s Status as Private Forum”).

Google, Amazon, and other big tech monopolies have taken control of many aspects of life. Although Americans see the majority of this takeover as positive, taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture seems otherwise.

Work Cited:

1. https://jolt.law.harvard.edu/digest/prager-university-v-youtube-ninth-circuit-dismissal-affirms-youtubes-status-as-private-forum
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/29/apple-google-facebook-amazon-congress-hearing/
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6C6_NVj964
4. https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-accused-of-using-monopoly-power-in-rise-as-e-commerce-gatekeeper-11602084168
5. https://www.adobomagazine.com/the-magazine/the-global-takeover-of-amazon-how-the-e-commerce-site-is-heading-towards-world-domination/
6. https://www.businessinsider.com/alphabet-google-company-list-2017-4
7. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/tech/congress-big-tech-antitrust-report/index.html
8. https://www.historycentral.com/Bio/rec/AndrewCarnegie.html#:~:text=Gradually%2C%20he%20created%20a%20vertical,industry%20in%20the%20United%20States.
9. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032315/what-are-most-famous-monopolies.asp
10. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/09/tech/amazon-dominance-coronavirus/index.html
11. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/antitrust-laws