Regulators vs. Big Tech: Who is Winning?

April 13, 2022

Randal Picker

Professor at University of Chicago

Alexandre de Streel

Professor of European Law at the University of Namur CERRE

Politicians in Europe and the United States are eager to restrain companies like Meta, Apple, and Google, but have these tech titans moved beyond the reach of regulators? Some say they should be treated as public utilities, since our use of technology is just as critical to our daily lives as water and electricity. Meanwhile, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have played significant roles on both sides of the crisis in Ukraine.

To learn more about Big Tech, policy and the next evolution of the internet, check out these other pieces from BRINK:

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Randal Picker

Professor at University of Chicago

Randal C. Picker is the James Parker Distinguished Service Professor Law at The University of Chicago Law School, where he teaches and does research in the areas of antitrust, intellectual property and platforms and networks.

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Alexandre de Streel

Professor of European Law at the University of Namur CERRE

Alexandre de Streel is the Academic Director at CERRE and a Professor of European Law at the University of Namur and the Research Centre for Information, Law and Society (CRIDS/NADI). Since April 2021, he is also the Chair of the EU Observatory on Online Platform Economy. He is a Hauser Global Fellow at New York University (NYU) Law School and visiting professor at the College of Europe and SciencesPo Paris, and also an assessor at the Belgian Competition Authority. His main areas of research are regulation and competition policy in the digital economy as well as the legal issues raised by the developments of artificial intelligence. Recently, he advised the European Commission and the European Parliament on the regulation of online platforms. Previously, Alexandre worked for the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, the Belgian Permanent Representation to the European Union and the European Commission (DG CONNECT). He holds a Ph.D. in Law from the European University Institute and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Louvain.