Tech’s New Monopolies

Posted by Bloomberg

Tech’s New Monopolies

By David McLaughlin

The rise of global technology superstars such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google is creating new challenges for competition watchdogs. In 2017 they joined Microsoft to become the five most-valuable companies in the US, a ranking that included only the software company 10 years ago. They dominate their markets, from e-books and smartphones to search advertising and social-media traffic on mobile devices. New research connects the market power of these high-tech behemoths — part of a broader rise in concentration in many industries — with chronic economic problems, including the decline in workers’ share of national income and slower economic expansions. Their dominance is fueling a global debate over whether it’s time to rein in such winner-take-all companies.

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