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Big Tech's Playing Monopoly. It's Going to Lose.
Knapp, Thomas
http://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/04/big-techs-playing-monopoly-its-going-to-lose/Date Written: 2021-02-04 Publisher: Counterpunch Year Published: 2021 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX24747 Knapp critiques Big Tech, including Facebook and Twitter, as limiting freedom of speech in return for substantial revenue from government contracts. Abstract: - Excerpt: Now the war's been tuning up into its next phase, and Big Tech is finally taking an open stand against, rather than for, freedom. Facebook and Twitter are cracking down on speech (of both "right" and "left" varieties). Google, Amazon, Apple et al. are trying to take down sites and apps on which speech can't be easily regulated. Why is Big Tech finally showing us an anti-freedom face? If you have to ask why, the answer is almost always money.That's certainly true in this case. Most of the firms in question enjoy substantial revenue from government contracts. They want to keep their single biggest customer happy both to preserve those revenue streams and to avoid the imposition of regulations that might cut into their profit margins. Subject Headings |