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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Thursday 25 July 2019

Is ‘Big Tech’ too big? A look at growing antitrust scrutiny

By BARBARA ORTUTAY and and a name that’s synony- with Snapchat, for exam-
RACHEL LERMAN mous with social media, ple. Facebook executives
AP Technology Writers Facebook is certainly big. have been calling broadly
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Is But is it an illegal, competi- for regulation, though noth-
Big Tech headed for a big tion-crushing monopoly? ing that comes close to
breakup? Federal regulators are al- breaking it up. In a recent
The U.S. Justice Depart- ready investigating the statement, the company’s
ment has announced a company’s privacy prac- vice president of global
major antitrust investigation tices. But the antitrust ques- affairs, Nick Clegg, said
into unnamed tech giants, tion has been rumbling in Facebook “accepts that
while the House Judiciary the background, with crit- with success comes ac-
Committee has begun an ics calling for spinning off countability. But you don’t
unprecedented antitrust WhatsApp and Instagram. enforce accountability by
probe into Google, Face- Democratic presidential calling for the breakup of a
book, Amazon and Apple This Feb. 19, 2014, file photo, shows WhatsApp and Facebook candidate Elizabeth War- successful American com-
over their aggressive busi- app icons on a smartphone in New York. ren has called for breaking pany.”
ness practices, and promis- Associated Press up Big Tech, as has Chris CEO Mark Zuckerberg has
es “a top-to-bottom review unlikely in the short term, Google, Facebook, Ama- Hughes, a co-founder of called for “new rules” in
of the market power held and Rep. David Cicilline, zon and Apple declined to Facebook. Former Vice four areas: harmful con-
by giant tech platforms.” the Rhode Island Democrat comment on the investiga- President Joe Biden has said tent, election integrity, pri-
In addition, at least two who leads the subcommit- tions. that he is open to the idea vacy and data portability.
2020 presidential hopefuls tee pursuing the House Here’s a look at the cas- . Critics believe a breakup Facebook has also stressed
have expressed support for investigation, called such es that could be brought is needed because Face- that it has competitors
breaking up some of tech- measures a “last resort.” But against them and what book can squash competi- in messaging and digital
nology’s biggest players even without that, Face- their defenses could be. tors either by buying them communication, including
amid concerns they have book, Google, Amazon FACEBOOK or using its enormous re- Apple and Google.
become too powerful. and Apple could face new With 2.4 billion users, $56 sources to mimic services
Experts say breakups are restrictions on their power. billion in revenue last year they offer — as it’s done Continued on Page 27

US attorney general says encryption creates security risk

By TAMI ABDOLLAH dinate murders of Mexico- relatively securely online cans’ digital lives by trying more secure” and protects
NEW YORK (AP) — Attorney based police officials. and engage in e-com- to undermine strong en- Americans from daily cy-
General William Barr said Gail Kent, Facebook’s merce. cryption and advocating berattacks that can com-
Tuesday that increased en- global public policy lead Barr said that to date, law for government backdoors promise personal informa-
cryption of data on phones on security, recently said enforcement in Garland, into the personal devices of tion. The trade association
and computers and en- that allowing the govern- Texas, have been unable Americans. He said strong represents internet compa-
crypted messaging apps ment’s ability to gain ac- to access 100 instant mes- encryption helps keep nies — including Facebook,
are putting American secu- cess to encrypted commu- sages sent between terror- health records, personal Google, Twitter and Linke-
rity at risk. nications would jeopardize ists who carried out an at- communications and other dIn — on public policy.
Barr’s comments at a cy- cybersecurity for millions tack there in May 2015. sensitive data secure from “Companies must not be
bersecurity conference of law-abiding people “The status quo is excep- hackers. required to engineer vulner-
mark a continuing effort by who rely on it. WhatsApp is tionally dangerous, it is un- Effectively banning encryp- abilities into their products
the Justice Department to owned by Facebook. acceptable and only get- tion in the U.S. by not allow- and services that could put
push tech companies to “It’s impossible to cre- ting worse,” Barr said. “It’s ing companies to provide us all at risk,” Theran said.
provide law enforcement ate any backdoor that time for the United States to unbreakable encryption, Critics of the Justice Depart-
with access to encrypted couldn’t be discovered, stop debating whether to doesn’t prevent it existing ment position also point
devices and applications and exploited, by bad ac- address it and start talking and flourishing elsewhere, out that law enforcement
during investigations. tors,” Kent said. about how to address it.” and only makes Americans agencies have been able
“There have been enough Allowing government ac- Ex-FBI director James Com- less secure against foreign to use unencrypted meta-
dogmatic pronounce- cess to encrypted devices ey championed the need hackers, Wyden said. data to solve crimes and
ments that lawful access also wouldn’t prevent peo- for a law enforcement “Once you weaken en- hired a private contractor
simply cannot be done,” ple from switching to any workaround to encrypted cryption with a backdoor, to ultimately gain access
Barr said. “It can be, and it new services that may crop devices and communi- you make it far easier for to the iPhone linked to the
must be.” up around the world that cations. He led a highly criminals, hackers and San Bernardino attacks.
The attorney general said U.S. agencies can’t access, publicized push to gain predators to get into your “There is no way to give the
law enforcement is increas- Kent said. access to an iPhone be- digital life,” Wyden said. He FBI access to encrypted
ingly unable to access in- Encrypted communica- longing to a perpetrator said he fears and expects communications without
formation on devices, and tions are ones that are only of a terrorist attack in San that Barr and President giving the same access
between devices, even available to users on either Bernardino, California, that Donald Trump would abuse to every government on
with a warrant supporting end of the communica- killed 14 people in 2015. the power to break encryp- the planet,” said Brett Max
probable cause of criminal tions. The increasing use of From the Senate floor on tion if they were allowed to Kaufman, senior staff attor-
activity. this technology has long Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden, do so. ney with the ACLU’s Center
Barr said terrorists and car- been coined by the Justice D-Ore., responded to Barr’s Given their records “it is for Democracy.
tels switch mid-communi- Department as the “going remarks in New York calling clear to me that they can- “Technology providers
cation to encrypted ap- dark” problem . it an “outrageous, wrong- not be trusted with this kind should continue to make
plications to plan deadly Barr’s remarks also ac- headed and dangerous of power,” Wyden said. their products as safe as
operations. He described a knowledged the need for proposal.” Noah Theran, a spokesman possible and resist pressure
transnational drug cartel’s encryption to ensure over- Wyden said Barr wants to for the Internet Associa- from all governments to un-
use of WhatsApp group all cybersecurity that has “blow a hole” in a critical tion, said “strong encryp- dermine the security of the
chat to specifically coor- enabled people to bank security feature for Ameri- tion makes us all safer and tools they offer.”q