New York Times: We Should ‘Fear’ Big Tech’s Consolidating Power

In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, Recode founder Kara Swisher outlines how the Silicon Valley Masters of the Universe will use the Chinese virus pandemic to further consolidate their power, a development we should all “fear.”

In a New York Times op-ed titled “The Power of Big Tech Just Keeps Growing,” tech journalist and Recode founder Kara Swisher questions what kind of power Big Tech will have after the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic ends.

Swisher writes in her column: “How about this: The tech giants could have all the power and absolutely none of the accountability — at least all the power that will truly matter.”

Swisher goes on to add that in a previous column she outlined a “problematic trend” that would develop after the pandemic began, writing:

“There will be a culling of most competitors of these giants that will only strengthen the power and reach of the behemoths, eliminating pesky roadblocks to their further domination,” I wrote about tech’s leading companies, who have the money and the means to wait out the storm. “This is obviously not a good thing in the long run.

But even if it is good that companies like Amazon and Google and Facebook and Apple have become an essential part of making it easier to shelter in place or to track the virus — thanks a bunch for food delivery, contact-tracing apps and lots of funny memes — there’s much that’s not good.

It’s not good that we have set up an epic system of have and have-nots that could become devastating for innovative ideas and start-ups trying to get off the ground. Not good because too much of our data is in the hands of fewer. Not good because these fewer are largely unaccountable to those they serve and hard to control by governments that are elected by the people.

Swisher further adds that following the pandemic, the Masters of the Universe will be even more free to act as they wish with even less government oversight, writing:

But when this crisis is over, I can say that we most certainly should fear Big Tech more because these companies will be freer than ever, with many fewer strictures on them from regulators and politicians. The effort to rein in tech companies had been building decent momentum before coronavirus outbreak, but it will be harder when focus needs to be on building up rather than breaking apart.

Read the full article in the New York Times here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com