Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she’s running for president. But her attitude toward business suggests she’s after a different title: CEO of the United States.
The Massachusetts Democrat’s short-sightedness, as well as her myopic view of the public’s outlook on big tech companies, inspired her to announce plans to break up those tech companies, if she wins the presidential election.
In a blog post on Medium, Warren described how it would work:
“Companies with an annual global revenue of $25 billion or more and that offer to the public an online marketplace, an exchange, or a platform for connecting third parties would be designated as ‘platform utilities.’ These companies would be prohibited from owning both the platform utility and any participants on that platform.”
Simply put, it would allow the federal government to dictate how Google, Amazon, Apple, and other companies do business. Warren said Apple should not be allowed to sell apps in their app store. Amazon’s line of in-house items called AmazonBasics wouldn’t sell in the Amazon Marketplace. Facebook would have to break off Instagram and WhatsApp into separate entities. Additionally, since there’s no statute of limitations on corporate mergers, Warren said she’d put the kibosh on Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods.
The question is, why?
Warren says, “Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy.”
Balderdash. Whatever concerns people have with privacy as it relates to tech companies, to suggest they have “power” over our society and democracy is ludicrous. People use Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook because they want to and because they like to do so. Consumers like AmazonBasics. People like having their Apple devices synced together. For most who use Facebook, they enjoy the ease with which it allows them to stay connected to friends and family. Ordering from Whole Foods online and getting it delivered is a service Americans want.
In short, Warren is advocating a solution to a problem that does not exist. Like so many other politicians, she suffers from the affliction of believing she knows better than the societal plebs posting photos on Instagram and ordering socks on Amazon.
The market has influenced privacy concerns. Sometimes the government gives the companies a push by suggesting possible regulation, but there’s nothing to suggest Warren’s plan is necessary.
It’s just another in a long line of “government knows best” proposals that would do more harm than good.
