There is a global shift in policies to curb the power of big tech platforms. Europe leads the way with antitrust regulation, but others, such as China, Australia, and the UK, are catching up. Even in the liberal US, there are changes in the regulation of competition and labour. The changing regulatory landscape compels tech giants to become more responsible businesses.
Regulation is back in fashion. At the core of this shift, there is a shared view among policymakers, academics, and political leaders that the monopoly power of tech giants has gone too far and needs fixing. There have been some hefty penalties in the past but, these days, leading companies in the tech field need an antitrust lawyer1 more than ever before.
The common misconception is that this is a political issue, in the big tech platform business. Not surprisingly, the reaction to the EU’s Digital Markets Act by Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was to condemn it as a piece of “unnecessary regulation” that would hurt users. But these commonly held views are neglecting the sea change that is taking place in the regulatory landscape around the world.
