IMF warns rising tech giants threaten investment and deter innovation
The International Monetary Fund stops short of recommending a breakup of large companies, but advocates for changes to competition policy
Washington — The growing market power of a small fraction of companies in wealthy countries could crimp investment and hurt workers, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, as the growing role of tech giants such as Google fuels debate about regulation of the industry. The IMF did not name names in its latest World Economic Outlook, but said interest in the problem has mounted amid the rise of the tech industry. “Further increases in the market power of these already-powerful firms could weaken investment, deter innovation, reduce labour income shares, and make it more difficult for monetary policy to stabilise output,” the IMF said. The report comes just weeks after the US Democratic senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren vowed to break up Amazon.com, Facebook and Alphabet’s Google. She has proposed legislation that would require tech companies that offer online marketplaces to refrain from competing on their own platform and promised to nominate regulators ...
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