Law Commons^™

Sources Of Tech Platform Power, Lina M. Khan

Faculty Scholarship

A handful of tech platforms mediate a large and growing share of our commerce and communications. Over the last year, the public has come to realize that the power these firms wield may pose significant hazards. Elected leaders ranging from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) have expressed alarm at the level of control that firms like Amazon, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Facebook enjoy. In a recent poll, a majority of Americans voiced concern that the government wouldn’t do enough to regulate U.S. tech companies. As the editor of BuzzFeed observed, a “major trend in American …