1. This is a holy $&$#& story of corruption and threats from Amazon, where their head lobbyist was caught on tape. First, the small stuff. It shows Amazon regularly buys off academics, in this case an antitrust professor named Daniel Sokol. 
https://twitter.com/VassB/status/1570374412452630529
2. The more important thing he's caught saying is that if Canada strengthens its antitrust laws, Amazon will *pull out of Canada.*
3. Tens of thousands of merchants in Canada depend on Amazon, so do millions of consumers. It is core infrastructure. So when top Canadian exec James Maunder says it will leave Canada, it is a 'nice retail sector, shame if anything happens to it' moment.
It's Amazon's moment.
It's Amazon's moment.
4. But this isn't just about Canada. Amazon is threatening THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Here's the quote:
“If Canada were to adopt U.S.-style antitrust legislation—the six bills currently in Congress—we’ve said it in the U.S., we’d have to shut down Marketplace."
“If Canada were to adopt U.S.-style antitrust legislation—the six bills currently in Congress—we’ve said it in the U.S., we’d have to shut down Marketplace."
5. This is not the first time we've seen big tech firms - who are core infrastructure - threaten entire countries. Google did it to Turkey. mattstoller.substack.com/p/googles-dang…
6. Facebook intentionally sabotaged Australian media and communications in response to a proposed antitrust law to force the firm to pay for news. wsj.com/articles/faceb…
7. Google threatened to remove its search engine from Australia for the same reason. bbc.com/news/world-aus…
8. Google and Apple created contact tracing during the start of the Covid pandemic, and refused to work with public health authorities all over the world on design choices.
9. This isn't a 'big companies lobby a lot' corruption story. It's about firms who, because of their control of key infrastructure, are *rivals to democratic government.* Amazon isn't just lobbying Canada, it is openly saying Canadians are *not allowed to govern themselves.*
10. Now, these kinds of threats are often a bluff. Not always, especially for smaller countries who are not rich and English-speaking. But Google and Facebook ultimately caved to, for instance, Australia. And their news are flourishing. mattstoller.substack.com/p/should-we-sa…
11. Big tech are not like other businesses. They rival sovereign nations. It's why Zuckerberg tried to start a currency - stopped by Congress - and a Supreme Court for content moderation. It's why they are right now trying to defund the antitrust police. mattstoller.substack.com/p/big-tech-tri…
12. We must break their power. We must shrink them down so they can be contained within a democracy. And we can. Ultimately, our national governments are immensely strong, tied down only by our lack of imagination and confidence. It's time to learn how to be a free people again.
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