A survey has found that over half of Americans would support a breakup of the big tech companies in Silicon Valley. The poll published stated Americans supported this in order to promote competition.
This all comes as many big tech firms have faced antitrust legal issues. The FTC are currently considering filing a lawsuit against Facebook for its antitrust behavior. Google has also faced issues on the issue with Epic Games who have filed a complaint against the company.
Now it seems that, as reported by Daily Caller, that Americans now support promoting competition. The popularity of these big tech firms’ power has clearly wained in the U.S. as this survey shows.
Americans would support the break up of big tech firms
The survey also found that only 26% of voters would oppose or strongly oppose the breakup the big tech companies. The remaining 19% did not express a strong view either way.
Overall, the study surveyed 1,200 likely voters in September and comes as lawmakers have concluded their yearlong investigation into antitrust behaviour.
This survey also showed some other interesting views of American voters. Around 60% expressed support for a smartphone prompt which asks users which search engine they prefer. This would replace the use of Google as a default which clearly not everyone is happy with.
Google has introduced plans to provide a choice screen to Android users. This is largely to settle the European Commission’s complaint. The commission accused Google’s business model of violating antitrust principles.
There is about a 3% margin of error in the survey so it is not totally cacurate owing to the relatively small sample size used.
Year long House investigation into antitrust practices comes to a close
It is fairly well established that Google accounts for over 90% of online information searches. In 2018, Google employees also revealed that they would willingly artificially manipulate search results on the platform.
Following Lawmakers on the antitrust subcommittee of the House Committee investigation into the big tech companies behaviour, a report will be released. Reports suggest that Democrats plan to produce a report stating that big tech firms sidestepped federal competition laws.
Most of the investigation focused on Google’s online advertising which has often faced many antitrust accusation. How this all plays out going forward will be interesting, especially as it has emerged that most of the public no longer supports these companies.
Without this public support, it likely becomes easier for authorities to take firmer action. However, taking on these big firms will still be a big challenge and this story will certainly take some time to come to a close.