Despite the claims of critics of Big Tech, the attacks on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other technology companies are not about competition, innovation, or free speech. They are about power. The critics of Big Tech think that certain companies have too much power. But these critics are doing more than equating economic power with political power. They are claiming that Big Tech has political power.
Economic power is the power to produce and trade. It is the power that results when one produces values that individuals want or need. Economic power is the result of the voluntary choices of individuals and businesses.
That Big Tech has enormous economic power is indisputable. Those companies make huge profits and are among the top companies in market capitalization. But that power was earned by producing and trading values. They have not and cannot force anyone to use their products or pay them money.
Political power is government’s monopoly on the use of legal force. Only government can legally detain or incarcerate individuals. Only government (or those it sanctions) can legally seize an individual’s property.
The difference between economic power and political power, wrote Ayn Rand, is that
economic power is exercised by means of a positive, by offering men a reward, an incentive, a payment, a value; political power is exercised by means of a negative, by the threat of punishment, injury, imprisonment, destruction. The businessman’s tool is values; the bureaucrat’s tool is fear.
Big Tech has produced values that tens of millions want. Critics are using the threat of breakups, fines, and imprisonment. Big Tech has economic power, but no political power. It cannot punish or imprison its critics and detractors. Government officials can.
While denouncing the economic power of Big Tech, critics want to unleash political power on those companies and their leaders. In October 2020, Sen. Ted Cruz sent letters to Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Dorsey of Twitter. He demanded that they immediately explain to the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution who was responsible for suppressing certain stories and the basis for those decisions.
Cruz did not explain why the subcommittee needed to know about the internal policies and operations of a private business. To Cruz, such explanations aren’t necessary. He can issue orders, and he expects businessmen to rush across the country to grovel at his feet. Cruz offered no values to Zuckerberg and Dorsey for attending his hearing. The only motivation to attend was the fear of what Cruz could do if they didn’t attend or he did not like their answers.