- It was inevitable with the exponential thrust laid out on digitalization efforts by every government worth its salt to ensure the benefits of cutting-edge information technology solutions reach the last man standing. The proliferation of several digital mediums, including social media platforms, has ensured modern-day humankind is not only hooked onto the varying degrees of amenities/entertainment/services available so easily big time but also made day-to-day living extremely comfortable. Consumers are not complaining. Several hitherto physically taxing services are now available digitally. No wonder online has assumed a ubiquitous presence everywhere making our lives such a breeze. However, as is the case with every innovation, invention, development, and growth prospect, digitalization too is a double-edged sword.
PC: BBC
- Depends on how it is used, advantageously or disadvantageously. One of the most prominent challenges associated with the digital medium is the unhindered information access to everything available out there. Whenever things go out of control, the authorities must step in to address them since the most impressionable young minds as well as the older ones alike are getting hooked on to some of the most obnoxious mediums. Of course, the Big Tech promoting and controlling the media platforms are not complaining though. The authorities around the world have stepped in, now. Thus, it’s been an eventful week in the world of Big Tech regulation. The EU launched sweeping investigations into the activities of three of them, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta.
- It is to check if they are complying with the area’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Independently, in the US, Florida has introduced a law that bans children under 14 from social media platforms. Big Tech represents an inversion of the early ideas of competition. The Global tech industry’s appeal lay in the fact that entry barriers to competition couldn’t be lower. A college dropout with a killer idea and the smarts could reduce an industry leader to an also-ran. That’s now history. The digital economy is driven by economies of scope. That is, providing a variety of services makes a firm more competitive by giving it access to a huge trove of data. AI is nothing without extraordinarily large data sets and computing power. There lies the catch, you see.
PC: Roschier
- So, now, folks with killer ideas are pushed into the embrace of Big Tech. Think of the grip Microsoft has on OpenAI. Big Tech now dominates three crucial areas. AI, platform economies, and social media. The challenge for regulators is to find a framework that can effectively address the full range of Big Tech operations. DMA represents an extension of earlier regulatory efforts to curb anti-competitive practices of Big Tech. It’s an area where most regulators have made progress. Silicon Valley’s outsized global influence creates resentment. But in its favor was the belief that it was a true meritocracy. That’s now morphed into a conventional oligopoly. Most welcomingly, the regulatory challenge now is helping the tech industry get back to its roots.
