Elizabeth Warren has a new Big Tech target. It’s a growing presence in our vehicles.
Massachusetts Democratic senators recently sent a six-page letter to the country’s top antitrust enforcers, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Kern, and Jonathan Kanter, who heads the antitrust division of the Justice Department. Google, Amazon, Apple’s foray into the automotive industry. She hopes that taking action now will prevent them from hijacking our cars just like they already have our computers, phones and homes.
Big Tech is also taking over dashboards and turning them into gigantic versions of smartphones and Echos. This allows them to use yet another rich source of data and manage another industry, making it much more difficult for other companies to compete with them.
Warren told Recode, “It’s sounding alarm bells about the growing dominance of Big Tech across the economy, and their expansion into the automotive industry is the latest technology to beat competition in yet another area. “This could have potential implications for American workers, developers and consumers, leading to less innovation and higher prices.”
This is Warren’s first letter to the FTC and DOJ on this issue, but she’s not the only one concerned here. Last April, 11 Democrats wrote a similar letter to Khan and Cantor, and several antitrust and consumer rights groups wrote Senators Khan, Kanter, and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) last January. , sent a letter to Rep. David Cicilin. Heads the Senate and House antitrust subcommittees respectively (D-RI).
In the letter, Warren said he wants Big Tech to be “a one-stop shop for automakers for everything from data collection, cloud storage and analytics to in-vehicle navigation, voice assistants and self-driving capabilities.” I wrote that there is
Nonetheless, these companies are looking to capitalize on the opportunities the automotive industry has created for itself. For years, car companies have offered notoriously bad infotainment systems. It offers in-dash services that are sometimes clunky and confusing compared to the maps and music available on mobile phones. Ford even agreed to pay his $17 million in 2019 to settle a class-action lawsuit over the awfulness of his Microsoft-powered MyFord Touch system. Now they are increasingly looking to Big Tech to provide what they cannot or do not provide.
“Automakers need to tap into the Big Tech digital ecosystem to offer more and better digital capabilities to their customers,” said Pedro Pacheco, an automotive industry analyst at Gartner. told Recode over the summer.
That’s why nearly every new car sold supports Google’s Android Auto, Apple’s CarPlay, or Amazon’s Alexa (if not all three). Industry analysts believe Google’s Android Automotive Operating System (AAOS) will be in 70% of new cars by 2028. This is a significant and rapid leap from less than 1% of new cars today. (Android Auto and AAOS are not the same thing. Android Auto runs on your Android smartphone connected to your car. AAOS is built into the car itself.) When you’re in the driver’s seat, you can use Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. I’m riding with you
Warren said that while people “deserve lower costs and more choice” in cars, allowing Big Tech to dominate the space “could have the opposite effect” over time. I think it’s expensive.”
The letter accuses Big Tech of using some of the same tactics it has used in other industries to cement its position in this industry. Amazon says Alexa Auto makes it easy for users to order his Amazon products from the comfort of their car while waiting at a red light, or listen to his Audible audiobooks from Amazon while in traffic. I am proud that I can do it. Automakers that want to offer Google Maps must purchase Google Automotive Services, which includes Assistant and the Play Store. Warren likens Microsoft to bundling Internet Explorer with Windows to gain a large share of the Internet browser market, but got it in the late ’90s with a host of antitrust issues.
Google and Amazon have struck deals with automakers to have their products pre-installed and included by default. This compares with the agreement between Google and Apple to offer Google Search as the default search engine in Apple’s Safari browser. Also, Apple is forcing third-party developers to seek approval before making apps available to users through CarPlay, as it does with her App Store on mobile devices, she noted. To do.
“Allowing big tech companies to monopolize the competitive playing field for automotive apps could stifle the nascent industry,” she wrote.
Warren also touches on the data these companies can collect from our vehicles and how they provide a rich and proprietary data source that can be used to support self-driving car projects. And it could give them a future competitive edge against the same auto companies that currently use their services.Big Tech isn’t just trying to break into other companies’ dashboards. It also makes its own.
Finally, Warren notes that big tech companies have acquired potential and actual competitors, from Google’s acquisition of Maps competitor Waze to Amazon’s interest in self-driving vans and trucks to boost its delivery services. I warn you that
Three companies have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Warren said it was a chance for antitrust enforcement to get ahead of a company threatening to monopolize an industry, and that it was far more important to do something about it rather than act after it had already happened. Both Kanter and Khan have expressed a desire to be more aggressive against anti-competitive threats, but that is easier said than done. In the United States, antitrust laws, or indeed court interpretations, favor corporations, and litigation can last for years, if not decades. But sometimes those efforts pay off. After all, Microsoft finally agreed to separate Internet Explorer from Windows.
Warren’s letter alone won’t do you any good. But if the big tech company realizes that its expansion into cars could be checked before it really kicks in, it could address some of her concerns before it’s forced. Apple has lessened its grip on mobile phones in recent years, making it easier to choose which search engine to use in the Safari browser and removing most of Apple’s built-in apps from the iPhone’s home screen. I’ve seen the They may also be reluctant to buy a company if they feel that the deal is likely to be challenged.
We’ve also seen Congress’ attempts to address some of these concerns, such as antitrust bills that would ban self-prioritization and open up app stores. Those bills look dead for now, but there’s always a chance they’ll be revived in the next Congress.
“The FTC and DOJ don’t have to act until there’s a problem,” Warren said. “Now is the time to prevent Big Tech from closing out the race in the auto industry before it is too late.”
This story was first published in the Recode newsletter. SIGN UP HERE Don’t miss the next one!
