Disciplines:
Information ScienceAnjana Susarla is an Associate Professor of Information Systems at the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. She studies the economics of information systems and artificial intelligence, social media analytics, and how information spreads online. Her research has appeared in numerous academic journals, including the Journal of Management Information Systems, Management Science, and MIS Quarterly, and has been covered in media outlets such as the Associated Press, Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune, and Salon. Anjana has also worked in consulting and led experiential projects with several companies. She has a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin.
By Anjana Susarla, Michigan State University
On Friday, U.S. senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren called on the government to break up tech giants Facebook, Google, and Amazon, arguing that they are monopolies with excessive market power. Warren proposes that we treat massive online platforms as utilities that should be subject to regulation, just as our water and electricity companies are.
Warren is right that the tech companies that control vast swaths of our communication, commerce, and media have become so large and influential that they should be regulated to protect the public interest. But we shouldn’t regulate tech giants the way we manage traditional utilities like water and electricity, and simply breaking companies up won’t solve many of the most intractable problems, such as fake news, privacy violations, hate speech, and political bias.
What we need instead is a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to constraining tech’s power and tackling its biggest challenges. Traditional top-down, government-managed approaches to regulation like Warren’s are unlikely to be effective in the fast-evolving, globalized tech industry…
Read the rest of the article at Fast Company. This piece was produced by Footnote in partnership with the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.
By Ravi Iyer of the University of Southern California
Regulation is coming in one form or another. We need multiple stakeholders – government, academia, and us, the users – working collaboratively to figure out the best solutions.
By Hyo Kang of University of Southern California
Regulation is coming in one form or another. We need multiple stakeholders – government, academia, and us, the users – working collaboratively to figure out the best solutions.
By Lu Zhang of Michigan State University
Regulation is coming in one form or another. We need multiple stakeholders – government, academia, and us, the users – working collaboratively to figure out the best solutions.
A secure, centralized workspace where faculty upload notes, papers, and lecture materials—and instantly receive clear, accurate, publication-ready drafts across formats: op-eds, research briefs, executive summaries, pitches, public commentary, and more.
Discover More
