Another single-topic pledge. I received this email from quite a few people.
The Email:
I’m concerned about the power wielded over our economy and society by a small number of enormous, mainly US-based Big Tech companies. Companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft are effectively monopolies. They use their size and power in their own interest, not ours.
The next government will need to stand up to these companies in a number of ways. That will include being willing to force them to comply with employment and online safety rules, and being willing to block mergers and acquisitions which could entrench their power even further.
We know that Big Tech will try to use its size and power to lean on politicians and the next government. So as I decide how to vote, I wanted to ask you where you stand. Do you agree that Big Tech is too powerful and needs reining in? Would you support action to stop companies getting too big through gobbling up their competition, and to break up tech giants who are already too big?
My Thoughts
It was funny to get this email, as it easily could have been written by me. Here’s a blog post I wrote about leaving Big Tech back in 2021.
“Do you agree that Big Tech is too powerful and needs reining in?”
Absolutely.
“Would you support action to stop companies getting too big through gobbling up their competition, and to break up tech giants who are already too big?”
I would indeed.
I began to move away from Big Tech years ago. I now have no Google accounts or products. I don’t use Amazon. Never used Apple. I had closed my Instagram and Facebook pages but have created a temporary Facebook one for the election; however, I look forward to closing it again. I left Twitter already. I managed to remove Microsoft from my house some years ago when I installed Linux Mint on all my computers, and also switched to LibreOffice. I really do put my money where my mouth is! My main platform now is Substack (both as an author, and a Parliamentary candidate).
The Green Party brief manifesto can be found here but the fundamental principle is about equality, and giving power back to the people. So the Greens are in general aligned with these views. It just so happens that I have been making personal choices for the same reasons for many years now.
I’ve only owned one mobile phone in my life, and don’t have a working one any more. But if I did, I’d never give the number out to anyone except friends and family, and apart from that it would only be for emergencies. A world where people could be free from constant tracking, spying and notifications sounds like a more relaxing world to me.
Promoted by Harriet King on behalf of the Green Party both at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff CF24 3JW.