Should tech giants be broken up to ensure fair competition?
Date
2022
Authors
Galib, Ahsan Habib
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Riga Graduate School of Law
Abstract
The global financial crisis gave renewed popularity to the concept that some financial
institutions are “too big to fail”. A similar argument can be extrapolated to describe the current
problem of the exploding power of digital technology companies, collectively known as the “Big
Tech”. In competition law, there is a significant level of interest in how these digital technology
powerhouses such as Google or Alphabet, Meta, Apple and Amazon establish or assert their
market power. This paper analyses the current provisions of the EU competition law and its
current ability to meaningfully counteract, or encourage free-market solutions to tech giant
dominance. The thesis proposes two solutions for the future - to keep these companies under
market control through antitrust (United States) / cartel (European Union) legal action and
possible break-up, and the second is the emergence of new market entrants that could challenge
the transnational giants' market dominance – allowing for the growth of an innovative and truly
competitive, technology sector for a global free-market economy.
Description
Keywords
Research Subject Categories::LAW/JURISPRUDENCE::Other law::Competition law , Big Tech