Subcommittee on Anti-Trust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.

cSubcommittee on Anti-Trust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.

The hearing focused on the ethical/legal/regulatory issues surrounding these companies, whose accumulation of commercial, financial, and technological assets has heightened concerns over the power of “Big Tech”:

Anti-trust
Market power Worker’s rights Foreign operations Online content Privacy

Subsequent to the summer 2020 hearing, the U.S. Justice Department launched an anti-trust case against Google, charging that company with illegal exploitation of its market power. The Google case signals the prospect of federal anti-trust suits against other Big Tech companies.

Your assignment is the following:

Choose two of the above-noted companies • Read the opening statements of the CEOs of your selected companies (statements attached below)• Critically evaluate the CEO statements from the lens of business ethics
• Write an essay (total of 4-6 pages, double-spaced) addressing the following questions:
– Are these companies exercising their power in responsible ways? Why or why not?
– On balance, do these companies play a positive role in society? Why or why not?
– In your view, what is the appropriate role of government regulation of Big Tech? Essays will be graded according to the following criteria:
Ability to formulate a clear and coherent argument
Use of course readings, lectures, videos, and class discussions to support the argument
Clarity of structure and organization
Quality of grammar and prose