There are a lot of major developments with big tech and we are covering them all in this video. We are going to talk about Twitter, Apple, and TikTok, and answer the question, “is Big Tech in trouble?” WATCH NOW
Video link: Epic vs Apple – Why Epic Will Win https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdd0zmsRqM0
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VIDEO SUMMARY
We live in an interesting time. We have a few massive tech monopolies that control every aspect of our lives. And it makes some people feel frustrated and powerless. But I think people do not realize how much power they have. We are at a moment in time, when we get to define, what the future looks like. Do we, as a society, want to hand over our lives to a few tech CEOs, or do we want to put in place a system of checks and balances on their power?
If you watch my channel, you know that I am a big supporter of free market policies. I believe the forces of economics are the best way to make supply meet demand. But there are situations where business principals break down, and monopolies are one of those situations. Because a monopoly controls all the supply and they can move the curve at their will to raise prices. They can also use their market dominance to destroy competitors. That is why we have anti-trust laws in the US, and why it is important to stop monopolies from engaging in anti-competitive behavior. Competition is necessary to maintain free markets.
There are monopolies that do exist in business, like power utilities. But these monopolies are usually highly regulated by the government to ensure they do not misuse their power.
These big tech companies are so new, we are just starting to figure out how to engage with these businesses, and put limits on their monopolies as a society. Let us talk about Twitter. Twitter recently made headlines during the election by banning the President of the United States. Now whether you agree with what they did or not. You have to admit, it is a little odd. We live in a society where the CEO off a tech company is more powerful than the President of the United States. Isn’t that odd? The CEO of Twitter is not elected. He is not accountable to anyone. This is the question we need to ask ourselves: “Do we want to live in a society, where the CEO of Twitter is more powerful than the elected President of the United States?” If the answer is no, what are we going to do about it?
This week, people are starting to take action. The Texas legislature has introduced a bill which would make it illegal for social media companies like Twitter to censor Texas citizens. A number of states are starting to talk about doing the same thing. What these laws do is set up regulations on how Twitter can conduct business. It sets up regulations just like power utilities or any other large monopoly. It also provides Texas citizens with a legal process they can go through with their complaints if Twitter is behaving in a way that is harmful. Of course there are a lot of questions about how this law would be implemented, but the important takeaway is that people are starting to stand up against the tech monopolies and it starts with individual states putting laws in place. Similar laws have been introduced in 20 different states.
Let us talk about Apple. Apple is in a massive antitrust lawsuit against Epic Games. I have already done a video going through the legal issues of the case. I will put a link in the description box down below if you want to check it out. The main issue is that Apple computer does not allow people to download software to iphones without going through the Apple store, where they charge a 30% “Apple tax.” This is in contrast to when you download software on a computer, where you can download directly from a software company’s website with no Apple tax.
Again, a number of states are proposing legislation to regulate Apple. A bill that was introduced this week in Arizona would make it illegal for Apple to force Arizona-based software companies to only use Apple’s payment system. So under this bill, if an Arizona company, wanted to use their own payment system instead, Apple would have to let them, and Apple could not retaliate by removing them from the store. This is another example where people are putting regulations in place to limit big tech companies. A similar bill just failed in North Dakota. But there are more bills in Georgia, Hawaii, and Minnesota.
Let us talk about TikTok. TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform in the US, and it is owned by China. There was a deadline to sell US operations of TikTok to an American company. That deadline passed in mid February. There is no sale, and it does not look like there will be a sale. We know that social media impacts elections. We know that China heavily censors. So now we have a huge segment of the US population, who is getting their information, and having their speech censored by China. We have to decide once again, is this something we want as a society? Or should there be some regulation in place on how TikTok manages the data of US citizens?
Those are just three examples of what is happening with Big Tech. I think it is clear, that times are changing for how these companies do business. And I think it is exciting that we live in this moment in time, where we get to decide what the future looks like.
Leave a comment down below letting me know what you think!
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Neither Zach De Gregorio or Wolves and Finance shall be liable for any damages related to information in this video. It is recommended you contact a CPA in your area for business advice.