The tide has finally turned against Big Tech. Last week, Twitter banned political advertising; EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said she was considering much tougher monopoly standards; the city of Toronto pushed back on Google’s Sidewalk project; Australia sued the search giant over alleged misuse of location data; and US presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren called out Facebook’s political lobbying as she declared she would end the revolving door between business and policy if she wins the White House.
It has been a long time coming. Over the past 20 years, Silicon Valley’s largest companies have traced a narrative arc from utopia to dystopia. They have moved from being scrappy, garage-based innovators to surveillance capitalists who profit from personal data and have the power to swing elections and squash even large competitors.
Their evolution has sparked what I think will be a significant and lasting pushback from politicians and regulators around the world. We are also seeing three crucial shifts that will affect not just Big Tech, but everyone.