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| George Soros |
Billionaire investor George Soros launched a scathing attack on
Facebook and Google at the Davos summit on Thursday, calling them
monopolies that could be manipulated by authoritarians to subvert
democracy.
During an annual dinner he hosts at the World Economic Forum, held
this week in the Swiss alpine resort, Soros turned his sights on a host
of subjects including US President Donald Trump and the speculation
frenzy surrounding the bitcoin cryptocurrency.
this week in the Swiss alpine resort, Soros turned his sights on a host
of subjects including US President Donald Trump and the speculation
frenzy surrounding the bitcoin cryptocurrency.
But much of the Hungarian-born financier’s ire was reserved for the
tech giants of Silicon Valley who, he argued, needed to be more strictly
regulated.
tech giants of Silicon Valley who, he argued, needed to be more strictly
regulated.
“Facebook and Google effectively control over half of all internet
advertising revenue,” the 87-year-old told diners during a speech.
advertising revenue,” the 87-year-old told diners during a speech.
“They claim that they are merely distributors of information. The
fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public
utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed
at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal
access.”
fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public
utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulations, aimed
at preserving competition, innovation, and fair and open universal
access.”
He predicted that tech giants would “compromise themselves” to access
key markets like China, creating an “alliance between authoritarian
states and these large, data rich IT monopolies.”
key markets like China, creating an “alliance between authoritarian
states and these large, data rich IT monopolies.”
“This may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of
which not even Aldous Huxley or George Orwell could have imagined,” he
warned.
which not even Aldous Huxley or George Orwell could have imagined,” he
warned.
Predicting governments would start to more heavily regulate the
sector he said: “Davos is a good place to announce that their days are
numbered.”
sector he said: “Davos is a good place to announce that their days are
numbered.”
Known for his legendary successful currency trading, Soros dismissed bitcoin as a “typical bubble”.
But he said the cryptocurrency would likely avoid a full crash
because authoritarians would still use it to make secret investments
abroad.
because authoritarians would still use it to make secret investments
abroad.
He described Russia’s Vladimir Putin as presiding over a “mafia state” and called Trump a “danger to the world”.
But he predicted that the US president’s appeal would not last.
“I regard it as a purely temporary phenomenon that will disappear in 2020 or even sooner.”
But the investor’s traditional Davos predictions do not always pan
out. Last year in Switzerland he warned that the stock market rally
would end after Trump’s election and that China’s growth rate was
unsustainable.
out. Last year in Switzerland he warned that the stock market rally
would end after Trump’s election and that China’s growth rate was
unsustainable.
China’s growth has continued while US stocks are regularly hitting record highs
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