Techlash? Big Tech feels no techlash
Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Facebook are all doing better than ever.
The techlash: In case you missed it, Big Tech is under fire. Facebook is being hounded over fake news, Apple is being grilled about smartphone addiction, Google’s in EU court for anti-competition, Amazon is blamed for job erosion … all is not well.
Meanwhile: The five firms—which are the most valuable in the US by market capitalization—published glowing quarterly earnings this week. Apple’s revenue rose 13 percent. Amazon's profit exceeded $1 billion for the first time. Facebook use is down, but revenue is up. Alphabet recorded its 32nd consecutive quarter of revenue growth. Microsoft revenue rose 12 percent. All is well.
Why it matters: Measured by cash flows, at least, any attempts to hold these tech firms to account aren’t yet working. What to do? The Economist recently took an interesting look at how we could police them better.
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