Big Tech Is the New Big Government

For decades, conservatives have warned about the dangers of an overgrown federal government. We have argued correctly that centralized power, even when exercised with good intentions, inevitably leads to abuse, inefficiency, and the erosion of liberty. But while many of us on the Right remain focused almost exclusively on Washington, a new and arguably more powerful force has risen largely unchecked: Big Tech. A small number of technology corporations wield influence over speech, commerce, culture, and even elections that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. They shape what information Americans see, which opinions are amplified or buried, and who is allowed to participate in the modern public square. In function if not in form, Big Tech now operates as a parallel governing authority one that is unelected, unaccountable, and increasingly ideological.

Power Without Accountability:

Unlike government agencies, tech companies are not constrained by constitutional limits, democratic oversight, or meaningful transparency. There is no First Amendment protection against a social media platform deciding to silence a user. There is no due process requirement when a payment processor cuts off a business. There is no public appeals court when an algorithm quietly downgrades certain viewpoints. The scope of their power rivals and in some cases exceeds that of the state. Social media platforms influence political narratives. Search engines determine what information is considered legitimate. App stores can eliminate competitors or controversial voices with the flip of a switch. Cloud service providers can effectively erase an organization from the internet overnight. When a government agency oversteps, at least in theory, citizens can vote, sue, protest, or demand legislative reform. When Big Tech oversteps, users are often told some version of “terms of service” and sent on their way. Conservatives should recognize this concentration of power for what it is: a threat to liberty, pluralism, and self-government.

The Myth of Neutral Platforms:

For years, tech executives insisted they were merely neutral platforms pipes through which information flowed freely. That claim has collapsed under the weight of reality. Content moderation decisions, algorithmic ranking, and enforcement policies all involve value judgments. And increasingly, those judgments align with a narrow, progressive worldview dominant in Silicon Valley. Political speech deemed “misinformation,” cultural views labeled “hate,” or skepticism toward elite consensus positions are disproportionately targeted. Whether the topic is COVID policy, gender ideology, climate change, or election integrity, dissenting views are often throttled, flagged, or removed entirely. The problem is not that private companies have opinions. The problem is that a handful of companies control the infrastructure of modern communication. When nearly all digital roads lead through the same few gatekeepers, ideological bias becomes a systemic problem rather than an individual choice. A free society requires not just freedom from government censorship, but a genuinely open marketplace of ideas. When that marketplace is monopolized, freedom becomes conditional.

Economic Power as Cultural Power:

Big Tech’s influence extends far beyond speech. Financial technology firms, online marketplaces, and payment processors increasingly act as moral arbiters, deciding which businesses are worthy of participation in the economy. We have seen lawful organizations deplatformed, bank accounts frozen, and fundraising cut off—not because of criminal behavior, but because of political or cultural views. This is social credit by another name, enforced not by the state but by corporations acting in coordination with cultural elites. Conservatives have long understood that economic freedom is inseparable from political freedom. When access to markets depends on ideological conformity, liberty erodes quietly but decisively.

Why the Left Is Comfortable With This:

Progressives, who once claimed to oppose corporate power, are largely comfortable with Big Tech dominance because it currently advances their cultural and political goals. Centralized authority is acceptable when it produces the “right” outcomes. Censorship is tolerable when it targets the “wrong” people. This alliance between corporate power and progressive ideology mirrors earlier partnerships between government and favored industries—only now the enforcement mechanism is cultural and digital rather than legal and bureaucratic. But conservatives should resist the temptation to cheer when Big Tech occasionally turns its power against the Left. Power consolidated is power that will eventually be abused. History offers no counterexamples.

A Conservative Response—Without Abandoning Principles:

Critics often accuse conservatives of hypocrisy for criticizing Big Tech while supporting free markets. This is a false dilemma. Defending competition, decentralization, and individual liberty is not the same as defending monopolies that collude with the state or dominate essential infrastructure.

A conservative response should focus on:

Antitrust enforcement rooted in competition, not punishment:

Breaking up monopolistic power when it stifles innovation and choice is consistent with free-market principles.

Transparency requirements:

When platforms function as public squares, users deserve to know how decisions are made and enforced.

Protecting viewpoint diversity:

Not by mandating speech, but by preventing discriminatory practices that eliminate alternatives.

Encouraging decentralization:

Supporting open protocols, competition, and technologies that reduce reliance on centralized gatekeepers.

The goal is not to nationalize tech companies or turn regulators into speech czars. The goal is to prevent any single institution—public or private—from exercising unchecked power over society.

The Stakes Are Higher Than Tech Policy:

At its core, this is not a debate about algorithms or apps. It is a debate about who governs American life. Is it the citizen, acting through democratic institutions and civil society? Or is it a small group of executives and engineers, insulated from accountability, deciding what is acceptable to think, say, and build? Conservatives should be clear-eyed: Big Tech has become the new Big Government not because it writes laws, but because it shapes reality. And a free people cannot afford to ignore that shift. Limited government was never just about restraining the state. It was about restraining power itself. That principle matters just as much in Silicon Valley as it does in Washington.

Dan Carr - Freedom Frontline