Fighting technology monopolies

What makes this case noteworthy is not just the breadth of the allegations. Apple is one of the symbols of American superiority in technology. The giants of Silicon Valley love this, and Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have reshaped the world, its economy, culture, and society. Today, there is virtually no aspect of life that isn’t touched by products from these big five technology companies. Together, they are worth more than $10.5 trillion, more than three times the size of India’s economy. Behind this advantage are certainly innovations that have pushed the boundaries of modern computing and brought unexpected capabilities and efficiencies to the world.

But that’s only part of the story. Investigations and fines against these companies in recent years show that much of their advantage is due to calculated decisions that go to the heart of free market principles. For example, Google has been fined billions of dollars for miscontrol of its search business, its Android mobile operating system policies, and the advertising platform that powers the digital economy. Amazon has been accused of running an unfair digital marketplace (arguably the world’s largest), and Meta (Facebook) is being investigated for acquiring competitors. Microsoft came under fire for antitrust violations before the turn of the millennium, and the Justice Department actually cited this case in a new complaint against Apple. From 1998 to the early 2000s, the company was seen as abusing its dominance in personal computing and was ordered to open up its products to competitors. The outcome of the lawsuit against Apple will also be closely watched in India.In India, protection is essential not only for consumers but also for industry so that the world’s largest population has access to a level playing field.