Matt Stoller Profile picture
Jul 29, 2020 17 tweets 10 min read Read on X
The #bigtechbarons hearing is starting.
Key point. This hearing is not just a one-off, it is *part* of an investigation. @davidcicilline says they have millions of documents from both the companies as well over a hundred competitors. #bigtechbarons
@davidcicilline notes commonalities of #bigtechbarons:

(1) They each are bottlenecks
(2) They each engage in surveillance
This is amazing. @davidcicilline posits that this is a battle between Monopoly power and democracy. #BigTechBarons #BigTechHearing
"Our founders would not bow before a king, we should not bow before the emperors of online commerce." - @davidcicilline #bigtechhearing #bigtechbarons
Now @JimPressOffice is giving the GOP opening statement. So far it's a reasonable statement, talking about dominance, making the point that "big is not bad." Serious statement discussing data and market structure. Bipartisan, this is good. #BigTechHearing
"I share the concern that market dominance is rife for abuse." - @JimPressOffice #BigTechHearing
This is the stock price of #bigtechbarons since this investigation began. Trillions of dollars in an increase of market capitalization. #BigTechHearing Image
Now @RepJerryNadler starts with citing Brandeis. #BigTechHearing

Everyone so far uses the word 'dominance.'
Good historical lesson from @RepJerryNadler. So far Sensenbrenner, Cicilline, and Nadler are bringing seriousness to this hearing. #BigTechBarons #BigTechHearing
Love @RepJerryNadler bringing Emanuel Celler and his anti-monopoly subcommittee into the conversation. #BigTechBarons

This is amazing, just like the hearings I read when I researched Goliath.
Time for @Jim_Jordan. "Big tech is out to get conservatives." Talking about the World Health Organization and China, Amazon banning Trump and Twitch. #bigtechbarons

So far hearing nothing about monopoly or competition.🤔🤔🤔
What's so irritating about @Jim_Jordan is that everything he's talking about is *a monopoly problem* but he's here to defend monopoly and then harangue the monopolists for not being nicer to what *he thinks.* #BigTechHearing #BigTechBarons
It's kind of funny that @Jim_Jordan doesn't get to the defense of #BigTechBarons because it just doesn't fit in his haranguing of #bigtech for conservative bias. Jordan is now being a clown and being disruptive. @davidcicilline shuts him down hard.
It's so great that @davidcicilline made it 100% clear that this hearing is serious and that you don't fuck with him. #BigTechBarons
Jeff Bezos is now up talking up how awesome his Mom and Dad are. #BigTechBarons
"It is still Day One for this country." - Jeff Bezos

That's very much a 'what is good for General Motors is good for America' answer.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Matt Stoller

Matt Stoller Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @matthewstoller

Jul 25
Democratic Silicon Valley billionaire Reid Hoffman gives $7m to Harris, immediately demands she fire FTC Chair Lina Khan.
Donor or owner? LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman thinks he owns Kamala Harris. Imagine giving $7 million and then publicly demanding a total reversal of tough on corporate crime policies. Harris took the money, she needs to repudiate this.
LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman also seems to think Harris will reverse the Biden tariffs because they are bad for business. Big money demanding their puppets dance is actually authoritarian.
Read 11 tweets
Jul 12
Neoliberalism doesn't mean being anti-government or for the free market or for or against welfare, it is a specific form of statecraft that uses financial markets as a veil to disguise governing policies.
Neoliberalism means organizing state policies by making them appear as if they are the consequences of depoliticized financial markets. It means moving power from public institutions to private ones, and allowing governance to happen through concentrated financial power.
Actual open markets for goods and services tend to disappear in neoliberal societies. Financial markets flourish, real markets morph into mass distribution middlemen like Walmart or Amazon or PBMs.
Read 8 tweets
Jul 9
House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing starting with Lina Khan testifying. Republican @RepGusBilirakis is blasting Khan for releasing a report on PBMs and saying she's terrifying 'innovators.' energycommerce.house.gov/events/innovat…
So Republican @RepArmstrongND knows Khan is doing an excellent job consistent with his priorities on big tech but lies about it because that's what you do when you're a Republican and someone actually governing is in front of you.
@RepArmstrongND Finally a Republican who opposes PBMs is not being partisan! @RepLarryBucshon asks a useful question about how pharmacy benefit managers hide money in Switzerland and Ireland.
Read 12 tweets
Jul 2
The Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision just overturned a case in which Biden was trying to deport an immigrant found guilty of aggravated child abuse.

Fun times. Image
The Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision just vacated a decision saying a small solar panel plant gets to sell electric power to big utilities. Image
The Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision just vacated in which the IRS denied a whistleblower a reward even though his information had led to the recovery of millions of dollars. Image
Read 6 tweets
Jun 30
1. There are four parts to the Democratic Party, and only one matters right now. There are media Dems, policy Dems, donor Dems, and regular Democrats. Only the regulator Democrats matter. Who are they? They are the electeds, unions, black preachers - those who deal with voters.
2. Each has their role. Media Dems communicate the message. That's the NYT and Washington Post, MSNBC, black radio, etc. Most deny they are partisan but sure Jan and all that. They want Biden to step down.
3. Policy Dems think about governing. That's progressive think tanks, law firms, corporate lobbyists. Donor Dems think about money and access. That's everyone from billionaires in Silicon Valley to 'ladies who lunch.'
Read 10 tweets
Jun 27
1. Let's talk economic termites, the companies you don't notice, but behind the scenes overcharge you in ways you don't see. Today we're going over CDK Global, a software company that raises the price of cars. thebignewsletter.com/p/economic-ter…
2. CDK Software is business software for auto dealers, managing service, parts and inventory, vehicle financing, accounting, payroll, insurance information, customer information, etc. 15,000 auto dealers use it nationwide. thebignewsletter.com/p/a-supreme-co…
3. Though it's business software, the price gets added to the cost of your car. A small dealership pays $150,000 per year, mid-size dealership groups (5 to 10 stores) pays $1,500,000 or more per year, and large dealerships pays $5,000,000 per year.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Read 23 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(