SCO103: Senator Elizabeth Warren arguing for the Breaking up of Big Tech said: New Empires: The Reach and Frontiers of the Tech Sector Essay, SUS, Singapore

Question 1
In 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren arguing for the breaking up of Big Tech said: “Today’s big tech companies have too much power — too much power over our economy, our society, and our democracy. They’ve bulldozed competition, used our private information for profit, and tilted the playing field against everyone else. And in the process, they have hurt small businesses and stifled innovation.” (Warren, 2019)*
*Warren, E. (2019, Mar 8). Here’s how we can break up Big Tech. Medium. Retrieved Nov 23, 2020, from https://medium.com/@teamwarren/heres-how-we-can-break-up-big-tech9ad9e0da324c

Research and write an essay that either agrees or disagrees with Warren’s characterization of Big Tech. You must select and develop only one position, and substantiate it with detailed examples.

Writing Guidelines and Further Instructions:
The objective of the essay is to accurately evaluate data relationships, patterns, and trends using a structured process and analysis of multiple sources of available information, to arrive at informed conclusions that are persuasive or at least thought-provoking, i.e. able to tailor communication approach to meet the diverse needs of a broad audience.

To that end, students must select and research only one Big Tech company from the following list: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Baidu, Alibaba, Xiaomi, Huawei, or Tencent. This list contains American and Chinese tech companies and gives the opportunity to determine the impact of global context and trends on the tech giant’s vision, objectives, and operating climate. In general, the essay will be assessed on the clarity and persuasiveness of its argument. Specifically, the argument should:

(a) Contrast your selected tech giant’s business approach with that of traditional (i.e. nontech/non-digital) monopolies, and illustrate, with detailed examples, how your tech giant is or is not a monopoly or a different type of monopoly to the one described by Warren
(b) Examine, with detailed examples, the amount of global and/or domestic competition faced by your tech giant in order to define the extent of its dominance.
(c) Discuss and explain, with detailed examples, how and why the company is promoting or stifling innovation.