NextGen Competition | Dec 19, 2024

• President Obama famously said, “Elections have consequences,” and this November’s national elections are no exception. The outcome wasn’t what any of us had hoped for, and we’re already seeing Big Tech move quickly to insulate itself by building bridges with President-elect Trump. We hope the anti-Big Tech rhetoric from the campaign trail doesn’t fizzle out.

Common Dreams | Dec 18, 2024

• You know you’re making an impact when you’re challenging the status quo and ruffling feathers on both sides of the aisle. Regardless of Trump's arrival, she should stay at the FTC as long as she possibly can.

NextGen Competition | Nov 04, 2024

• As the air is heavy with election anxiety and pundits and pollsters speculate on tomorrow’s outcome, we at NextGen are thinking about 2025 and beyond. Namely, will the next administration continue the current one’s antitrust crusade? How will the ongoing cases of the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice versus Big Tech shake out? 🤔

NextGen Competition | Oct 15, 2024

• For decades, Microsoft’s relentless pursuit of vendor lock-in has stifled IT diversification in both the public and private sectors, while allowing dangerous cybersecurity vulnerabilities to persist unchecked. In September, the House Homeland Security Committee had a critical opportunity to address this issue during its hearing on July’s devastating outage, which brought airlines, government agencies, and businesses across the globe to a standstill. Unfortunately, they missed the mark.

The Well News | Sep 24, 2024

• Make no mistake, the impact of July’s massive global CrowdStrike outage was the result of a software monopoly that has become a single point of failure for too much of the global economy.

NextGen Competition | Sep 12, 2024

• We extend our sincere thanks and tip our hats to the organizations that came together to co-author and co-sign a letter to the FTC supporting the Commission’s inquiry into Amazon’s “reverse acqui-hire” of Adept AI Labs Inc.

NextGen Competition | Jul 31, 2024

• Welcome to this month's edition of Top Hat and Thimble. In our ongoing quest to dissect and critique the consolidation of power across industries, we again turn our gaze to the tech giants and draw an ironic parallel with the "too big to fail" phenomenon of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Dispatch | Jul 22, 2024

• But some also blame the concentration of the technology industry into a handful of companies and suggest that, if there were more viable alternatives to Microsoft or CrowdStrike, the faulty update’s effects would not have been as far-reaching. “Today’s massive global Microsoft outage is the result of a software monopoly that has become a single point of failure for too much of the global economy,” George Rakis, executive director of NextGen Competition—an organization that opposes market consolidation in the tech industry—said in a statement. “For decades, Microsoft’s pursuit of a vendor lock-in strategy has prevented the public and private sectors from diversifying their IT capabilities.”

NextGen Competition | Jul 02, 2024

• A tip of the hat goes to the American Economic Liberties Project for organizing the 2024 Anti-Monopoly Summit. This event not only was an opportunity to celebrate recent victories and explore new approaches, but it also allowed us to hear firsthand from regulators dedicated to reining in corporate power and restoring competition to the marketplace.

The American Prospect | Jun 11, 2024

• “It’s like if you bought a car but then can only service it at the company’s own proprietary repair and gas stations,” said George Rakis, executive director of NextGen Competition.

NextGen Competition | May 16, 2024

• If you didn’t manage to snag an Early Bird ticket to next week’s Anti-Monopoly Summit, let me assure you that the event is well worth the full price of admission. This one-day conference unites people from across the the anti-monopoly movement—advocates, small businesses, federal and state policymakers, entrepreneurs, and labor leaders who form the backbone of the fight to reintroduce competition into the tech marketplace.

NextGen Competition | Apr 08, 2024

• As emerging, unregulated Generative AI technology permeates across industries, integrating into our daily lives, there are whispers of a renewed partnership between the two corporate tech behemoths, Google and Apple. It's worth recalling that these same giants are embroiled in the largest antitrust trials since U.S. v. Microsoft.

CircleID | Feb 19, 2024

• Microsoft succumbing to a cyberattack due to vulnerabilities its own products is no surprise. The company has a history of failing to protect customers in the digital world it helped build. Why has Microsoft, a software pioneer and the most valuable company in the world, been able to neglect its cybersecurity responsibilities? One key reason: its size.

Common Dreams | Jan 20, 2024

• "Today's massive global Microsoft outage is the result of a software monopoly that has become a single point of failure for too much of the global economy," George Rakis, executive director of the advocacy group NextGen Competition, said in a statement.

NextGen Competition | Dec 22, 2023

• Union organizing, a protected right under U.S. labor law, faces challenges in today’s world. Big tech monopolies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google engage in practices that discourage and thwart unionization. Amazon's well-deserved anti-union reputation is evident in its actions.

NextGen Competition | Nov 30, 2023

• We can be thankful this holiday season for autoworkers, writers, actors, delivery drivers, warehouse workers and other workers who have been successfully challenging corporate power for justice, equity, and safety in the workplace. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Kahn continues leadership in antitrust enforcement, and we are excited about President Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The Washington Post | Nov 21, 2023

• The move could allow Microsoft “to acquire OpenAI's intellectual property with ZERO federal oversight or the need for regulatory approval,” warned George Rakis, executive director of the advocacy group NextGen Competition, in a statement.

NextGen Competition | Oct 30, 2023

• Microsoft’s unrelenting march toward unprecedented market dominance continues. With a $69 billion purchase of Activision/Blizzard, Microsoft acquired its 24th video game studio. The largest merger in tech history is a sad moment for competition, workers’ rights, and consumers.

NextGen Competition | Sep 19, 2023

• While the journey is uphill, tech workers are gradually finding their voice. They are ready to fight for a workplace that respects and values their contribution. It may be a tough battle, but it is a battle we are prepared to fight. New tools like the FTC-DOJ’s Draft Merger Guidelines that devote increasing attention to labor and worker issues will be critical to this effort.

NextGen Competition | Aug 30, 2023

• A federal judge may have just greenlit the largest tech merger ever — Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard. The consequences are massive. This month, George Rakis published an opinion piece in The Well News looking at the alarm bells raised by the merger for consumers and competition. The piece applauds the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and its Chair Lina Kahn for her “rare willingness to take on difficult fights and stay the course.”

NextGen Competition | Jul 27, 2023

• This month’s newsletter spotlights the dangers and misconceptions of the Microsoft–Activision merger. Next month we will focus on some of the successes and setbacks in organizing workers in the tech sector.