U.S. Senator and 2020 presidential election candidate Elizabeth Warren image : Edward Kimmel / Flickr

Elizabeth Warren – the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a 2020 presidential election candidate – has vowed to break up tech giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google if elected, to promote competition in the tech sector. “We have these giant tech companies that think they rule the earth,” Warren said to a crowd of about 300 in Long Island City. “I don’t want a government that’s here to work for the giant tech companies. I want a government that’s here to work for the people.”

In an event held not too distant from a proposed Amazon HQ2 site – that was later scrapped after opposition from local leaders, Warren said that big tech giants get into towns, cities and states and “bully everyone into doing what they want” and “roll right over” startups and small businesses that pose a threat. “Giants are not allowed to buy out the competition. The competition needs the opportunity to thrive and grow,” Warren said.

Facebook chief operating officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg image : Valeriano DiDomenico / World Economic Forum

She earlier posted a Medium article, highlighting “why the government must break up monopolies and promote competitive markets.” She said “….weak antitrust enforcement has led to a dramatic reduction in competition and innovation in the tech sector”, terming a reversal to mergers and acquisitions of competing services – like Facebook’s Instagram and WhatsApp buy – and operation of proprietary marketplaces by tech giants, as a solution to this.

Warren also commented on other issues including data collection and privacy, use of social media by foreign power to influence elections and a need to aid content creators “keep more of value of the value their content generates”. “….More competition means more options for consumers and content creators, and more pressure on companies like Facebook to address the glaring problems with their businesses.” Warren wrote.

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg Official White House photo by Pete Souza

“The steps I’m proposing today will allow existing big tech companies to keep offering customer-friendly services, while promoting competition, stimulating innovation in the tech sector, and ensuring that America continues to lead the world in producing cutting-edge tech companies. It’s how we protect the future of the Internet.” Warren’s Medium article concluded.

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