EDITORIAL: David v. Big Tech, and David Quit

Sunday, May 28, 2023

EDITORIAL

 

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L-R David Cicilline, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg

|As Chair of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline made global headlines and led some of the most important and dramatic Congressional hearings taking on big tech.

It was David v. Big Tech.

The Congressman was the author of a 450-page report in 2020 that unveiled that the actions of the biggest tech corporations “exploited their power of the marketplace in anticompetitive ways."

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Cicilline was strong in his subcommittee’s pronouncements about the abuses by Apple, Amazon, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Facebook.

He was critical of Facebook’s ownership of Instagram and WhatsApp — the Cicilline report states, ”Facebook has monopoly power in the market for social networking. According to internal documents produced by Facebook to the Committee, it has high reach, time-spent, and significantly more users than its rivals in this market. Despite significant changes in the market—such as the advent of mobile devices, applications, and operating systems—Facebook has held an unassailable position in the social network market for nearly a decade, demonstrating its monopoly power.”

The report was chock-full of examples of anti-competitive behavior.

Cicilline’s committee’s report stated, "By controlling the infrastructure of the digital age, they have surveilled other businesses to identify potential rivals, and have ultimately bought out, copied, or cut off their competitive threats. And, finally, these firms have abused their role as intermediaries to further entrench and expand their dominance. Whether through self-preferencing, predatory pricing, or exclusionary conduct, the dominant platforms have exploited their power in order to become even more dominant."

The impact of social media is now being understood. While there is no better way to connect for a birthday, it is clear there are serious dangers.

It is apparent that China is using TikTok to collect the individual data of Americans, and that social media is wreaking significant havoc -- and damage -- on America’s children.

This week, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, in a 19-page advisory, wrote, “There are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.”

As the Biden campaign has swallowed up donations from the tech firms like a supercharged Hoover vacuum, Cicilline simply may not have had the guts and the will for the long-term fight.

GoLocal, in a 2020 editorial, asked the question, "So which will it be, Congressman -- Trust Buster or Democratic Lackey?”

We now know that for Cicilline, the fight was not worth the effort.

Cicilline announced in February that he is quitting his seat in Congress to take over the position as the head of the Rhode Island Foundation and collect a salary of $650,000 for the group dedicated to supporting those in need. He begins at the charity on June 1.

Tech wins again.

An editorial is the opinion of a publication — specifically, the ownership.

While based on facts and news reporting, it is an opinion intended to discuss critical community issues. Often, the opinion is written with the intention of positive change.

GoLocal editorials have sparked conversations, change, and even the naming of a bridge.

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