June 21, 2022

The enduring image of the old American west, as propagated into our consciousness through film and TV, is dominated by the outlaw, the two-dimensional villain upon whose climactic demise justice prevails. Our hero, the lawman, carries the burden of law and order squarely on his shoulders and in his holster. There is no visit to the courthouse; “High Noon” is settled face to face, in the grit and the dirt, with not a single demurrer or interlocutory appeal on the horizon. There is no flipping through calendars to set a date for a settlement meeting.

As a nation grounded in the rule of law, it is a bit curious that we at times embrace and even idolize the fictional outlaw: the elegant jewel thief, the dapper mob boss, the cadre of talented conspirators seeking to penetrate the impenetrable bank vault. In reality, today’s outlaws operate within the corporate campuses of the world’s largest tech firms and are far less charming. Since big tech has taken root, their business models have primarily been defined by treating the laws of commerce and technology as mere suggestions in their crusade for market dominance. As we have learned through the years and seen across continents, defying the law is the cornerstone of their business model. The occasional fine or sanction that falls their way is but a nuisance tolerated on their ledgers as just the cost of doing business.

Both Congress and state legislatures are now responding to big tech’s recalcitrance toward lawful behavior through a slew of legislative proposals with real teeth to finally hold the mammoth tech companies accountable. Predictably, big tech is now squawking. Given their lengthy and growing list of infractions on privacy, data security, censorship, anti-competitive business practices, and outright theft, big tech’s petitions to lawmakers to keep their hands off the legal framework in which they currently operate is a thoroughly indefensible position. Read full article here.