Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up tech companies is moving forward
Shocking brands across the US, Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up tech companies will be a reality sooner than anyone anticipated. There’s so much up in the air for these big brands, leaving us wondering how they, and we, will cope.
- When will the break up begin? It’s still unclear. While it appears the regulations will be approved shortly, it’s not yet determined when they’ll take effect.
- What are Tesla’s plans for the tech breakup? They seem to be taking a back seat, transferring a fair amount of their stakes to the Boring Company.
- Where can I keep up with the latest udpates for the break ups? We’ll provide info as often as we get it, but you can also check out the .gov page for the latest publically available details.
In an extremely surprising series of events, Elizabeth Warren’s breakup plan for tech companies has been widely accepted by the Trump administration, sparking action. The president took to Twitter to announce his “immediate plans.”
Elizabeth Warren – the pioneer of the tech breakup
As a result, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Apple, and more will all be broken up into smaller segments. As the pending regulation states, no single tech company or brand can have a value of over $25 billion.
What we know so far
Some brands have already come out with plans for the new regulations:
- Apple: They’ve openly contested the regulation, but state they already had a plan in place since Warren’s previous public announcement in early March. Apple revealed that it will separate its telephony side (iPhone) from its entertainment software (the App Store), entertainment hardware (AirPods, iPad, iPod, HomeKit devices), and entertainment services (including all the new services announced last week). According to sources, they’ve had to even create a segment just for repairs in order to meet regulatory guidelines.
- Facebook: The social media giant will be creating a news segment in order to accurately divide its offering. As a result, brands and companies who share news stories must log into Facebook through news.facebook.com. In addition, they’ll also be forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
What will happen to social media as we know it?
- Amazon: Right at their prime, Amazon may be taking the largest hit of all. With such crossover between software and hardware, we’re not exactly sure how they’ll begin to segment.
- YouTube: Surprisingly, YouTube has opted to segment its brand according to genre. Vloggers will live under the “Documentary” label, while there will be entirely separate sites for Gaming, How-to videos, and Recipes.
- Google: Although solely from unnamed sources, it’s reported that Google could potentially segment all of their search offerings as well as Google Ads into silos. The Images search is different than Videos which is different than Shopping, Web, and more, meaning users would need to visit individual sites for the appropriate results.
We’re already hearing rumors about the segments (and leftover fragments) from these brands whose worth is less than $25 billion. There are talks of these segments banding together, creating what some are calling a Super Brand.
Apple already has a plan
What this means for you
- Fewer surprises: With such segmentation, it’s likely hardware will suffer in innovation. Brands won’t be able to work behind closed doors, meaning they can’t create without being under a microscope.
- Expect subscriptions everywhere: In an effort to better track their value, brands will likely impose a paid subscription service. This will help them predict when they’ll need to segment further.
- Black market conglomerates: The dark side of the Internet is still around and we may see 3rd parties combine services from these brands illegally. The Robin Hood-esque plan would allow users to continue to use websites as they always have.
What do you think? How will the world be with segmented tech companies?
Your inbox is missing this newsletter!
*When you sign up, expect newsletters, promotions, and agree to our Terms of Use, acknowledging our Privacy's data practices.
