If Tech Giants Disappear, Will It Effect Us?

There are ongoing attempts to break up the tech giant to curtail their influence and wishful desire of acquiring upcoming tech startups. If this agenda is to succeed, what would it mean for an everyday consumer? Like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are under pressure to split up to create healthy competition. But can such a policy take away or limit some of the conveniences we enjoy?

While governments, lawmakers, and interested organizations are championing such clampdown, the affected companies also explain how such policies can affect us.

Would breaking up Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram create any disservice? Would a forced split up of Apple affect the security of your iPhone, as the company claim? Won’t we still enjoy the luxury of selecting items per our wish if Amazon is to split? Or Google might lose its ability to run search engines, YouTube, and Google Maps when the company is divided?

Can we also look at it in this way? If smaller companies can compete with the so-called giants, won’t service provision improve? Won’t users feel more comfortable and have equally top-notch alternatives?

Pending Bills

We may soon see some split-ups, as authorities are pushing up bills to make it happen. With bipartisan support, the House Judiciary Committee recently approved some bills geared towards breaking up the tech giants. But we need to lower our expectations as it may take a little longer for these bills to become law. In fact, it won’t be an easy battle looking at the dismissal of some suits against these companies. An anti-trust suit against Facebook was recently dismissed for lack of enough evidence. Congress currently has a lot of pressing issues to deal with now.

The companies are also fighting back strongly to maintain their current status. Allies and lobbyists are leaving no stone unturned to stall the passage of such legislation. They are against the appointment of the head of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, a fierce critic of tech giants.