Vidostream | News, sport and opinion from the Vidostream's US edition

https://vidostream.com

Elizabeth Warren says she will break up tech giants Facebook, Google and Amazon if she wins White House race, accusing them of 'bulldozing competition and using data for profit'

Democratic White House candidate says she would appoint regulators to break up tech giants
She says Facebook's Instagram purchase, Amazon buying Wholefoods and Google buying Waze are all examples of competition being stifled
Writes in blog post: 'They've bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else.'
Is appearing at town hall in Long Island City, Queens, New York, where Amazon canceled plans for HQ2
Elizabeth Warren says she will break up tech giants Facebook, Google and Amazon if she wins White House race, accusing them of 'bulldozing competition and using data for profit'

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said that if elected president she would break up top tech giants Amazon and Alphabet's Google and Facebook, sayign they have 'too much power' and have 'bulldozed competition.'

The Friday statement by the presidential contender and consumer protection advocate had an immediate impact on the company stocks.

Warren is polling in the first or second tier of potential presidential candidates, earning an average of 7 per cent support in a polling average – though to implement her ideas she would have to capture both the nomination and defeat President Trump. 

Warren described her plans in an essay published on Medium that made the case for promoting competition.

Breakup plan: Elizabeth Warren says she would use regulators to stop tech giants Google, Amazon and Facebook from
 

'Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy,' she wrote. 'They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation.'

Amazon shares fell 1.5 percent and Facebook and Alphabet shares were down 0.6 percent in morning trade on Friday. 

Warren, a former academic, became a liberal favorite after she helped create the first consumer financial protection board. 

Warren, who is seeking to stand out in a Democratic field crowded with progressives, said the companies have been allowed to purchase potential competitors, like Facebook's acquisition of Instagram. 

She made her policy pitch as she seeks to distinguish herself from other contenders, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has gone after Amazon to try to get the shipping and Internet giant to boost wages. 

Sanders introduced legislation, named after Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, that would seek to tax companies whose workers are forced to rely on government benefits for health care and living costs.

The acronym comes from its title: 'Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies.' 

She also said she would appoint regulators who would rely on existing antitrust laws 'to break up mergers that reduce competition.'

She said they would rely on those tools to 'unwind anti-competitive mergers, including: Amazon: Whole Foods; Zappos Facebook: WhatsApp; Instagram Google: Waze; Nest; DoubleClick.'

In her pitch to rein in the influence of tech giants, the Massachusetts senator envisions legislation targeting companies with annual worldwide revenue of $25 billion or more, limiting their ability to expand and forcing parts of Google and Amazon's current business structure to operate as separate entities.

Read More (...)

Source: DailyMail

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.
You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second