Lots of people around the country, and in Washington, D.C., are talking about the power technology companies like Facebook and Google have in society. Some have even suggested these multibillion-dollar corporate behemoths be broken up into smaller companies to foster more competition. But they – and their opponents, defending the giant conglomerates – may be missing some important context.
Tufts University scholar Bhaskar Chakravorti, who studies the effects of digital technology on people’s lives around the world, warns that there are at least three major misconceptions that people need to bust before they talk about breaking up “big tech.”
Also today: the role of immigrant workers in U.S.-China trade war, weighing the evidence on student “summer loss” and the local economic impact of preserving land.
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Before taking on tech giants, shatter a few misconceptions.
W. Scott McGill/Shutterstock.com
Bhaskar Chakravorti, Tufts University
Advocates and opponents of breaking up Facebook, Google and other technology giants are falling prey to some serious misconceptions.
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Katharine Sims, Amherst College; Jonathan Thompson, Harvard University; Spencer Meyer, Harvard University
Protecting land from being developed intuitively may seem like a drag on local economies, but research in New England finds that it has the opposite effect.
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Nell Haynes, Georgetown University
The more they fight, the more popular they become – and the more pushback they receive.
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Frank J. Infurna, Arizona State University
What was once imagined as a time of exploration and reinvention has become marked by financial and emotional strain.
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MacKenzie Smith, University of California, Davis
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Jennifer Van Hook
Pennsylvania State University
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