Bill Gates has always been of the opinion that it is not necessary for the economy to break up the largest companies in the so-called Big Tech sector. Usually it is called five companies that have practically achieved monopoly in their field of activity. These are: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft.
There are many voices that such companies should be divided into smaller units. According to supporters of this solution, it would heal competition and curtail the arbitrariness of the giants. This view is expressed by the American government, which is currently investigating the situation.
Boycott at will, it will do nothing
These companies have already reached such proportions that the loss or profit of several thousand or millions of users is negligible. For example, Facebook, despite scandals and unfair practices in the field of data security is doing great … there is simply nowhere to escape. The inertia of the number of users is also disturbing. I can't imagine that 2.7 billion Facebook users will one day simply delete accounts.
Amazon has grown to be unable to control what is happening on its trading platform, which was exploited by dishonest sellers. This is just one branch of his business.
Microsoft has been punished several times for monopoly practices. Usually it was a browser connected to Windows. Google has recently found a similar situation with Chrome for Android. Earlier, the European Union looked at the search engine. Apple and Google for the company are keeping a check on the mobile applications market.
These companies are so powerful that they buy and finish potential competitors without batting an eye. There is currently no chance that any American or European company will threaten them.
Bill Gates prefers to repair than to break down
Bill Gates, as a co-founder and longtime director of Microsoft, is obviously well familiar with antitrust regulations imposed on American companies. Gates is not a fan of business sharing, but for quite a surprising reason. In his opinion, if the US government divides one company doing a lot of bad things, as a result it will get several companies doing the same bad things, each in their own scope. The whole statement by Bill Gates can be heard in the interview recording.
Gates also admitted that in his time he was quite naive, opposing divisions. Currently, he does not completely reject this idea. According to him, there are certain sets of conditions under which division can have positive effects.
Gates also admitted that in his eyes society and government should set the boundaries of what is good and what is bad and set positive directions in innovation. Of course, some things can't be predicted – for example, the deep divisions and extremes that arise in social media. However, the Big Tech sector left alone is not always in the interest of society.
Gates also commented on the US tax system. In his opinion, politicians should change the rules if they want to eliminate the desire to reduce taxes in all possible ways by major companies. Microsoft's co-founder did not comment on information about the planned European digital tax.