Tech Monopoly

Tech Monopoly

A clear-eyed guide to one of the defining economic and legal questions of the digital age: how should society respond when a handful of technology giants hold extraordinary power over markets, consumers and competitors?

Big Tech has transformed the way we search, shop, communicate, work and entertain ourselves. But when does technological success become monopoly power—and what, if anything, should the law do about it?

In Tech Monopoly, leading antitrust scholar Herbert Hovenkamp takes a close look at the competition problems created by today's largest technology companies. Rather than treating size itself as proof of wrongdoing, Hovenkamp examines the more difficult question of market power and how competition can be harmed in industries shaped by digital platforms. From Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft to businesses operating in search, software, streaming, email, retail, transportation and other technology-driven markets, he explains why traditional ideas about competition can become complicated when applied to the digital economy.

The book begins with the foundations of antitrust law, then explores the distinctive characteristics of technology markets, including two-sided platforms and the ways digital businesses connect different groups of users. Hovenkamp examines practices such as self-preferencing, refusal to deal, restrictive distribution, intellectual-property strategies, pricing, monopolisation and technology mergers, before confronting perhaps the most controversial question of all: should governments break up Big Tech? He considers structural breakups alongside alternatives such as interoperability, portability, injunctions, damages and changes to corporate management, weighing which remedies might actually protect competition without creating unnecessary disruption.

Written to make complex economic and legal concepts accessible, Tech Monopoly offers a measured framework for understanding one of the most consequential debates surrounding modern technology. It is an insightful read for students, business professionals, policymakers, investors and anyone who wants to understand how antitrust law can—and cannot—respond to the power of Big Tech.

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