Plummeting stocks, regulatory concerns: all’s not well with Big Tech

Big Tech firms have been on edge over the past few months as million-dollar fines, allegations of breach of trust and data privacy, and labour unrest have coincided with a significant rout in their stocks amid fears of an impending recession.

Big Tech comprises a handful of technology companies with access to vast swathes of data, which gives them incredible power – too much, in the eyes of many governments and regulators. While never far from the regulatory spotlight, these companies have been facing significant pushback in recent months.

On Monday, US Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar called for legislation that would strip tech companies of their legal immunity when they “amplify” hate speech or election falsehoods.


Read | Google pauses enforcement of Play billing system following CCI order

Claiming that technology companies are making money off violence, she said: “I would reduce their immunity in a way that would allow people to go after them when they are making money off of amplifying election falsehoods and hate speech.”

Klobuchar’s comments echo the views of the Indian government, too, which has warned Twitter from fuelling hate and ordered the takedown of tweets or profiles that might stir any sort of violence.

In response, Twitter approached the Karnataka High Court terming these orders “manifestly arbitrary, and procedurally and substantially not in consonance” with Section 69A of the IT Act.

Social media firms aren’t the only ones that find themselves cornered.

On Tuesday, Google said it was pausing the enforcement of a policy that requires app developers in India to use its proprietary billing system for selling digital goods, following a ruling by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

And last month, the CCI fined Google over Rs 2,200 crore, accusing it of anti-competitive practices and abusing its dominant position in multiple markets with its Android mobile operating system.

The Indian government has also said it will set up an appeals panel amid concerns that users have no recourse if they object to moderation decisions of firms such as Meta, Twitter, or Google.

In August, Australia's competition watchdog fined Google $42.7 million for misleading users about the collection of their personal location data.

Zuckerburg-led Meta was fined over $400 million in September for breaking European Union data privacy laws for its treatment of children’s data on Instagram and then hit with another antitrust breach order in Turkey for combining user data across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Falling stocks & raging protests
US tech stocks, usually the benchmark for global investors, have taken a massive beating in 2022 as weak economic growth, rising inflation, rapid rate hikes, and a strong dollar have taken a toll on these companies.

Meta, which lost over $75 billion in market value following one of its biggest stock crashes on Monday, has shed more than half a trillion dollars in market value so far this year. Shares of other Big Tech firms have also plummeted following lower-than-expected revenue earnings and muted growth guidance.

Amazon’s market value fell below $1 trillion after its disappointing earnings report and the stock fell as much as 12% after the e-commerce giant projected the slowest holiday-quarter growth in the company’s history.

Apple’s stock has fallen 14% in 2022 while Microsoft’s has nosedived 30%, Tesla’s 43%, and Meta’s a mammoth 70%. Most of these firms have either paused hiring or laid off workers to improve their operating margins amid heightened market volatility and retreating investors.

Labour unrest, particularly Amazon and Apple, has worsened their woes.

The unionisation movement at Amazon, has gained momentum in the US and percolated to other parts of the world such as Coventry in the UK. So far, Amazon has successfully fended off these movements.

In the case of Apple, about 150 workers stopped work for an hour in October to protest the paltry 2.6% hike in labour wages. Hundreds of workers are expected to strike again after two-thirds of the employees rejected a pay and benefits proposal.