It's Time to Rein in Big Tech

Big Tech does not seem to be accountable to anyone or anything and, in my opinion, that is NOT OK! Amazon, especially now thanks the pandemic, is basically the only game in town when it comes to retail. What small business can possibly compete with the company’s fast and free shipping?! And as I understand it, any small retailer that wants to sell on the mega-monopoly’s platform, must comply with Amazon’s price-setting and other demands. It’s either get on board with Amazon’s ultimatums or get out of the company’s way. How is that remotely fair? It’s not.

As a former educator and mom of three young girls, I’m also concerned about the strong-hold Big Tech has on the lives of young people. The negative impact of Facebook/Instagram on the social and emotional health of adolescents is especially concerning. And what’s inexcusable is that we’re finding out now that the social media giant has known all along how its platform hurts our kids’ self-esteem, yet the company has refused to do anything about it. Putting profits ahead of our nation’s young people is simply wrong.

I believe in free enterprise, but this winner takes all system with Big Tech holding consumers, small businesses and even our young people hostage must be addressed. To do this, Congress should approve a bipartisan package of six bills that cleared the House Judiciary in June and hold these Big Tech companies accountable once and for all. Goodness knows, they’ve been holding all the chips at our expense for far too long.