One of the world’s foremost exponents of anti-monopoly law explains how Big Tech is strangling our economies and how to stop it

Today’s tech platforms are some of history’s most advanced tools for extracting as much as possible – data, attention, profit-margins – from everyone else. As they become essential, we are at risk of building an economy that is perpetually unfair for much of humanity.

Places and spaces where people can exchange information and goods have been at the heart of every economy and every civilization in history, but today’s global platforms – as provided by Amazon, Google, Apple, Meta and others – are different- instead of providing value they extract it, creating vast disparities in wealth and power between the haves and have-nots. For the first time in history, we have the ability to create sustainable prosperity for all, but currently that wealth is concentrated in a tiny number of hands. It isn’t abundance that’s the problem; it is distribution.

In this brilliantly engaging, frequently surprising account, Tim Wu, one of the world’s foremost experts on anti-monopoly law, draws on fascinating case studies in the history of technology’s explosive rise to demonstrate emphatically that breaking monopolies will ultimately unleash creativity and growth – and reduce the vast inequality that inevitably leads to social upheaval and political chaos. Wu also sets out an alternative blueprint that preserves the economic flourishing that platforms catalyze, allowing tech platforms to play a major role in creating and sustaining an economic model of prosperity not just for the few but for the many.

Author Biography

Tim Wu is Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology at Columbia Law School. He worked in the White House as special assistant to President Biden for technology and competition policy, and is the author of The Master Switch and The Attention Merchants. He currently splits his time between New York City and Oxford.

We are committed to protecting your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act and working with our suppliers to assist with warranty claims. Products sold by Mighty Ape will be covered by a Manufacturer's Warranty for at least a one-year period from the date of purchase.

Your warranty will cover any manufacturing defects which, if existing, will present themselves within this warranty period.

Your warranty will not cover normal wear and tear, faults caused by misuse, and accidents which cause damage or theft caused after delivery. Using the product in a way it is not designed for will void your warranty.

Please refer to our Help Centre for more information.