Member-only story
The Big Tech Antitrust Movement Is Finally Showing Results
In one week, Google opened direct payments to Android developers and Europe passed the Digital Markets Act. It’s not the return of the free market, but it’s something.
For years, a chorus of critics has argued Big Tech is too powerful, unaccountable, and anti-competitive. And for years, it’s seemed like they were shouting into a pillow. Antitrust legislation meandered in Congress, the tech giants continued to squeeze their competitors, and they added trillions in market cap in the process.
But now, the Big Tech antitrust movement is actually making real progress. On Thursday, the EU adopted the Digital Markets Act, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at restoring the market competitiveness that the tech giants have hindered. One day earlier, Google said it would allow some Android app developers to take payments directly, avoiding its Play Store’s processing and fees. After a long period of stagnation, these moves are breakthroughs.
“From now on, Big Tech companies must show that they also allow for fair competition,” said European Parliamentarian Andreas Schwab on Thursday. ”The time of long antitrust cases is over.”
