Big Tech's walled gardens are crumbling
The tech giants that defined our digital eco-systems face unprecedented regulatory pressure on their business models - potentially creating massive ripple effects throughout the industry.
Three transformative shifts underway
1. Google was ruled a “monopolist” and may have to sell Chrome, end its $20B deal with Apple to stay the default search engine, and share its search data with competitors - democratizing search solutions for true competition for the first time in decades.
2. Apple's “willful violation” of court orders means it can no longer take its 30% “tax” on purchases made outside its App Store - a revenue stream worth billions, which is enforced by US courts and the EU digital markets act. This alters the economics of mobile apps, while potentially losing $20B annually from Google.
3. Meta faces potential forced divestiture of Instagram and WhatsApp - acquisitions increasingly viewed as designed to “neutralize” competition rather than innovate.
This isn't just regulatory noise, but structural shifts of Big Tech - at a time when AI innovations are already disrupting established markets. The results of these legal battles could fundamentally alter how these companies operate and how users interact with their products and services in the years ahead.
What new business models will emerge from this reshuffling of the tech landscape? Hopefully more than just new ads and social media streams. 😉