Politicians lack the knowledge to regulate technology. This was comically demonstrated in 2018 when Senator Hatch asked how Zuckerberg could keep Facebook free. Zuckerberg’s response became a viral meme:
Taken from Tenor.com
Zuckerberg’s creepy smile aside, the meme drives home the point that politicians know little about emerging technologies.
What can be done about this? Lawmakers cannot be experts on everything – they need good counsel. An example of that is how challenging it was for the governments to contain COVID with no help from microbiologists or researchers. The way we get to good policy is by having expert regulators who act as referees, weighing the pros and cons of different strategies to help the lawmakers deliberate with at least some knowledge.
A Global Push to Fight Digital Monopolies
When we take a look at monopolies around the world, it’s clear that digital monopolies are everywhere, and alongside them are the finance companies and banks. We live in a capitalist world. Technology walks holding hands with the urge to profit and make money. That is why it is so hard to go against these monopolies.
But not all hope is lost. If we look across the globe, we can find different countries regulating big tech companies. Australia has been working for more than a year now, proposing a legislation that would force tech platforms like Google and Facebook to pay news publishers for content. The tension was so big that Facebook took an extreme measure and blocked all kinds of news in Australia. The government thinks that Facebook’s news ban was too aggressive and will only push the community even more further from Facebook.
The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, shared on his Facebook page his concerns and beliefs saying that this behavior from Facebook only shows how these Big Tech Companies think they are bigger than the government itself and that rules should not apply to them. He also says that he recognizes how big tech companies are changing the world, but that does not mean they run it.
Discussions on how to stop big companies using every content for free is also happening in other countries like France, Canada and even the United States. Governments around the world are considering new laws to keep these companies in check. The question is how far they can go against the biggest digital monopolies in the world.
Fortunately, there are many examples where governments are working with tech companies to help consumers. Early this year, the French government approved the New Tech Repairability Index. This index is going to show how repairable an electronic is, like smartphones, laptops, TVs, and even lawnmowers. This will help consumers buy more durable goods and force companies to make repairs possible. It is not only a consumer-friendly measure but also environmentally friendly as it helps reduce electronic waste.
Another example that big technology companies have to hear from the government is in Brazil. On February 16, a Brazilian congressman was arrested for making and sharing videos that go against the law by uplifting a very dark moment in Brazilian history, the military dictatorship they had to go through in the 60s. And a few days later, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram had to ban his accounts because of a court order, since he was still updating his account from inside prison.
Brazil still doesn’t know how this congressman’s story will end, but we can at least hope that the cooperation between big companies and the government will increase even more. These laws and actions by the people in charge of countries have already waited too long to come along. We have to fight for our rights and always remember that no one is above the law.
From Consumers to Citizens
Technological monopolies can make us feel like they rule the world. But the truth is that we are the consumers, so we need to have our voices heard and rights respected.
I believe that the most efficient way to deal with tech monopolies is by creating committees that will assist the government to make antitrust laws. These committees should have experts and common citizens that don’t have any ties with big tech companies. Antitrust laws are statutes developed by governments to protect consumers from predatory business practices and ensure fair competition. They basically ensure companies don’t have questionable activities like market allocation, bid rigging, price-fixing, and the creation of monopolies.
Protecting consumer privacy and deterring artificially high prices should be a priority. But can these committees really be impartial? Can we trust the government to make these laws?
The only way is for consumers to act as citizens. That is, we need to vote for representatives that are not tied to Big Tech lobbies. We need to make smarter choices with our purchases. We need to organize interest groups that put humanity back at the center of technology.
How are you standing up to digital monopolies today?
