Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Big Tech is suppressing industrial liberty

Cell phone showing logos of Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple and Microsfot
Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images

This is the second entry in “ Big Tech and Democracy,” a series designed to assist American citizens in understanding the impact technology is having — and will have — on our democracy. The series explores the benefits and risks that lie ahead and offers possible solutions.

Industrial liberty — once a cornerstone of American antitrust policy — has faded into obscurity in the shadow of Big Tech’s overwhelming dominance. In short, industrial liberty refers to your ability to use and benefit from your skills, your knowledge and your passion. It manifests as entrepreneurs and small-business owners, through patents and innovations, and as everyday folks finding good work every day. This erosion of this specific sort of liberty not only undermines the principles of competition but also stifles the aspirational spirit that has for so long distinguished the American public.


By concentrating power and leveraging their dominance to crush competition, companies like Amazon, Google and Meta suppress industrial liberty, extinguishing the incentive for new entrants to challenge the status quo. The result? An economy that serves entrenched monopolies instead of fostering opportunity.

Historically, the public interest standard set forth in Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act was intertwined with industrial liberty. Drafters of the FTC Act wanted to make sure the agency prioritized enforcement actions that had wide-reaching ramifications and that, once resolved, would further industrial liberty. As figures like Justice Louis Brandeis emphasized, this broader policy approach was not just about preventing excessive prices or abusive practices; it was about empowering individuals — producers, workers and consumers alike — to thrive on a level economic playing field. Industrial liberty ensured that individuals could apply their talents and ambitions without being stymied by monopolistic giants. Yet today, the focus of antitrust enforcement has veered away from this principle, favoring superficial metrics and toothless regulatory action that allow Big Tech to dominate unimpeded.

This shift is exemplified in the Federal Trade Commission’s diminishing adherence to its statutory mandate to act only in cases that serve a “specific and substantial” public interest. As Brandeis asserted, this standard requires more than avoiding private disputes; it demands a clear and measurable benefit to the public. Unfortunately, modern antitrust enforcement often appears blind to this mandate, pursuing cases that fail to directly confront Big Tech’s stranglehold while draining resources on marginal players. When they do seek out Big Tech, enforcers have commonly relied on questionable legal theories with low odds of success. This combination of strategies has left Americans in an undesirable position.

Consider the FTC’s recent complaint against a small generative AI developer accused of enabling deceptive product reviews. The case lacked any evidence of actual harm, let alone a substantial public interest rationale. Meanwhile, tech behemoths use their dominance to undermine competition in emerging markets like artificial intelligence. Instead of targeting these systemic threats, the FTC’s actions often discourage small-scale innovation — precisely the opposite of what industrial liberty aims to protect.

Big Tech’s behavior exemplifies the need for a renewed commitment to industrial liberty. These companies don’t just compete; they engulf entire industries, leveraging their ecosystems to deter rivals. The ease with which you find yourself buying products on Amazon, searching on Google or scrolling on Meta's platforms are all indicative of markets being saturated by a handful of major players. This market ecosystem not only limits consumer choice but oftentimes also discourages potential competitors from entering the market, fearing insurmountable barriers.

Restoring industrial liberty requires regulatory courage. Antitrust enforcement must shift its focus back to creating space for new competitors, especially in emerging industries like AI and renewable energy. By applying the public interest standard rigorously and targeting enforcement against the most egregious anti-competitive behaviors, regulators can foster a climate of innovation and opportunity.

Congress, too, has a role to play. The lawmakers who championed antitrust legislation in the early 20th century recognized that economic concentration posed a threat not just to markets but to democracy itself. Their vision of industrial liberty as a pillar of American life must guide modern legislative efforts. Proposals to curb Big Tech’s market power, such as limiting acquisitions of nascent competitors or imposing stricter interoperability requirements, align with this tradition.

The erosion of industrial liberty is not merely an economic issue; it is a democratic one. A society that tolerates monopolistic dominance is one where individual initiative and creativity are subordinated to corporate power. Reviving the principles of industrial liberty would not only enhance economic dynamism but also reaffirm the democratic values that underpin American antitrust law.

Realization of those ends, however, does not require revolutionary means. We don't need to bankrupt Big Tech but merely reorient it around the values these companies claim as their own. It should not be forgotten that many of these companies have greatly increased our collective capacity to learn, to explore and to connect. They directly employ thousands and have positive economic impacts on many more. And, in many cases, they have used their successes to benefit their surrounding communities. The issue is that we can and should expect Big Tech to do all these things at an even greater scale. The exceptional things should be the norm.

The FTC, Congress and the courts must embrace this challenge. By restoring industrial liberty as the guiding principle of antitrust enforcement, they can dismantle the barriers that Big Tech erects and pave the way for a new generation of entrepreneurs. The stakes are clear: Either we reclaim industrial liberty as a cornerstone of our economy, or we allow Big Tech to stifle the entrepreneurial spirit that defines the American dream.

Frazier is an assistant professor at the Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University and a Tarbell fellow.

Read More

Why Journalists Must Stand Firm in the Face of Threats to Democracy
a cup of coffee and a pair of glasses on a newspaper
Photo by Ashni on Unsplash

Why Journalists Must Stand Firm in the Face of Threats to Democracy

The United States is living through a moment of profound democratic vulnerability. I believe the Trump administration has worked in ways that weaken trust in our institutions, including one of democracy’s most essential pillars: a free and independent press. In my view, these are not abstract risks but deliberate attempts to discredit truth-telling. That is why, now more than ever, I think journalists must recommit themselves to their core duty of telling the truth, holding power to account, and giving voice to the people.

As journalists, I believe we do not exist to serve those in office. Our loyalty should be to the public, to the people who trust us with their stories, not to officials who often seek to mold the press to favor their agenda. To me, abandoning that principle would be to betray not just our profession but democracy itself.

Keep ReadingShow less
Fighting the Liar’s Dividend: A Toolkit for Truth in the Digital Age

In 2023, the RAND Corporation released a study on a phenomenon known as "Truth Decay," where facts become blurred with opinion and spin. But now, people are beginning to doubt everything, including authentic material.

Getty Images, VioletaStoimenova

Fighting the Liar’s Dividend: A Toolkit for Truth in the Digital Age

The Stakes: When Nothing Can Be Trusted

Two weeks before the 2024 election, a fake robocall mimicking President Biden's voice urged voters to skip the New Hampshire primary. According to AP News, it was an instance of AI-enabled election interference. Within hours, thousands had shared it. Each fake like this erodes confidence in the very possibility of knowing what is real.

The RAND Corporation refers to this phenomenon as "Truth Decay," where facts become blurred with opinion and spin. Its 2023 research warns that Truth Decay threatens U.S. national security by weakening military readiness and eroding credibility with allies. But the deeper crisis isn't that people believe every fake—it's that they doubt everything, including authentic material.

Keep ReadingShow less
From TikTok to Telehealth: 3 Ways Medicine Must Evolve to Reach Gen Z
person wearing lavatory gown with green stethoscope on neck using phone while standing

From TikTok to Telehealth: 3 Ways Medicine Must Evolve to Reach Gen Z

Ask people how much they expect to change over the next 10 years, and most will say “not much.” Ask them how much they’ve changed in the past decade, and the answer flips. Regardless of age, the past always feels more transformative than the future.

This blind spot has a name: the end-of-history illusion. The result is a persistent illusion that life, and the values and behaviors that shape it, will remain unchanged.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Importance of Being Media Literate

An image depicting a group of people of varying ages interacting with different forms of media, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

AI generated

The Importance of Being Media Literate

Information is constantly on our phones, and we receive notifications for almost everything happening in the world, which can be overwhelming to many. Information is given to us in an instant, and more often than you think, we don’t even know what exactly we are reading.

We don’t even know if the information we see is accurate or makes sense. Media literacy goes beyond what we learn in school; it’s a skill that grows as we become more aware and critical of the information we consume.

Keep ReadingShow less