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The writer is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel Prize winner 2024 in Economic Sciences

In 1913, Woodro Wilson warned: “If the monopoly continues, the monopoly will always sit at the head of the government. I do not expect to see a monopoly that restricts himself.” After a century, his words look more urgent than ever. The technology giants in the Silicon Valley did not control the market only Aggressive acquisitionsAnd pressure and systematic erosion of competition – they have incorporated themselves into the government mechanism.

This accumulation of power is not a coincidence – it is a product of decades of anti -monopoly failure. The organizers have repeatedly allowed technology giants to capture markets, buy competitors and reshape industries in their favor. Once the innovation axis, the sector now hosts some of the most powerful companies in history. Before disintegrating, the market Value Among the Standard Oil was about $ 33 billion in dollars today – a small part of what Google, Amazon and Apple: $ 1.8 million, 1.8 trillion and 2.9 Triton respectively.

The monopoly was more problematic as our ability to communicate with each other was undermined. CacOPhony is a social media platform like X and Facebook is a deeper symptom: the fixed cavity is our independent news. In the center of this decline is Google. By controlling $ 876 billion (and Growth) Digital Ecological Agency, Google has converted online advertisements into the bottleneck that extracts profits with the hunger of news institutions. Former executive director of Google comparison Its dominance on Citibank or Goldman Sachs has the New York Stock Exchange – an unimaginable arrangement elsewhere.

The consequences are clear. When social media becomes more toxic and weapons by extremists, reliable news continues to wither. Publishers, who rely on advertising to maintain independent reports, compete in a market where Google determines the conditions and get the largest share of profits. The effects are hesitant through society: Consumers bear higher costs, Employment of competition and democratic accountability Weaken.

However, the tide is converting. after Seismic ruling last year Google carries a monopoly in the United States search markets, a US court ruled last week that the company is also being in the region whose vast profits generate – Digital ad.. “Google has deliberately participated in a series of anti -competition actions to obtain the power of monopoly in the publisher’s advertising server and advertising exchange markets to announce the open network offer,” said Leoni Brentka, the American boycott judge.

Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing to judge a parallel issue against Google’s dominance in advertising technology. These via Atlantic efforts offer a rare opportunity to stimulate the anti -monopoly application. Europe has long realized the need to strengthen its technology sector and reduce its dependence on Silicon Valley. But this ambition cannot be achieved unless monopolistic bottlenecks are addressed.

Silicon Valley defenders argue that dismantling companies will slow down, but monopolies Bad for innovation. When the giant telecommunications company AT & T was a monopoly Be forced Patents for all arrivals in 1956, and Ultimately collapsedHelp Lead Digital Revolution.

The separation alone is not enough-the reform must guarantee fair competition, and benefit from society instead of the few technical and Empowering citizens Instead of exploiting their data. My economic colleague Simon Johnson suggests a 50 percent tax On the revenue of digital ads that exceed $ 500 million annually to reduce Google and Meta and create a space for competitors. The European Union has taken early steps with Digital Markets Law and Digital Services LawBut the Google Ad Tech case provides the opportunity to overcome fines and determine a global precedent to enforce and combat targeted monopoly.

Although the Trump administration has supported parts of the technology ecosystems, many conservatives still criticize large technology. US Vice President JD Vance once to praise Former US Federal Trade Committee, Lina Khan, to revitalize the anti -monopoly application in the United States. This last judgment on Google, along with an active experience Against deadHe explains that there may be solid support from the two parties to fight the strongest monopoly.

Now you must finish the important Europe. For a very long time, the Silicon Valley dictated the Internet bases, as it formed the markets to serve its own interests while the competition and high inequality diminish. By preparing a course to dismantle Google’s advertising monopoly, Europe can show that democratic institutions, not monopolies, must form our digital future.