On July 19, Microsoft outages caused global computer outages and paralyzed everything from airlines and businesses to mission-critical 9-1-1 emergency response systems and Governments worldwide. The cause of the outage appeared to be a routine software update at Microsoft’s security vendor.

The following statement can be attributed to George Rakis, Executive Director for NextGen Competition (nextgencomp.tech):

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. For decades, Microsoft’s pursuit of a vendor lock-in strategy has prevented the public and private sectors from diversifying their IT capabilities. From airports to hospitals to 9-1-1 call centers to financial systems, millions today are feeling the consequences of the greed and ego of one of the most egregious offenders in Big Tech.

For the preservation of global security and the sustainability of the global economy, it is long overdue that Microsoft and other Big Tech monopolies are broken up—for good. Microsoft has turned a blind eye to cybersecurity vulnerabilities for years and enough is enough.

Not only are these monopolies too big to care, they’re too big to manage. And despite being too big to fail, they have failed us. Time and time again. Now, it's time for a reckoning. We can’t continue to let Microsoft’s executives downplay their role in making all of us more vulnerable.

About NextGen Competition

Our mission is to support a robust and competitive technology ecosystem by opposing anti-competitive business practices and promoting greater industry accountability. Specifically, we oppose consolidation in the industry that undermines worker protections and employer accountability, threatens data privacy and security, encourages market concentration, and limits consumer choice. NextGen Competition intends to work with a broad coalition of unions and public interest partners as it seeks to oppose anti-competitive business practices.