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Elizabeth Warren on Breaking Up Big Tech

Ms. Warren seeks to break up companies like Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook. And she has taken her fight to Silicon Valley.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.Credit...The New York Times

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts believes that the government must break up monopolies and promote competitive markets. That’s why she has taken aim at America’s largest tech companies.

  • Ms. Warren’s regulatory plan seeks to break up companies like Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook.

  • Under her proposal, regulators would be appointed to undo some tech mergers. Her plan also calls for legislation that would prohibit platforms like Amazon from both offering a marketplace for commerce and participating in that marketplace.

  • Her plan would also force the rollback of some acquisitions by tech giants, including Facebook’s deals for WhatsApp and Instagram, Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods, and Google’s purchase of Waze.

  • The policy further cements Ms. Warren as one of the Democratic candidates most willing to call for large-scale changes in the name of equality.

  • Ms. Warren has taken her fight directly to Silicon Valley. A billboard installed in San Francisco, paid for by her campaign, reads: “Break Up Big Tech.”

  • The tech companies Ms. Warren has called out grew the way they did because, well, they wanted to. Officials at top tech companies have previously signaled that they believe they can police themselves, and they are highly unlikely to accept any sort of government regulation without a costly and bruising fight.

  • It is also unclear how popular Ms. Warren’s antitrust proposal is with voters, many of whom have come to enjoy and rely on the services offered by big tech.

Matt Stevens is a political reporter based in New York. He previously worked for The Los Angeles Times, covering drought, water and the city’s west side. More about Matt Stevens

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