Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren on Friday unveiled a tech trust-busting plan that would theoretically undo some of the past decade's most influential mergers, including Facebook's 2012 acquisition of Instagram, Google's 2007 deal for DoubleClick, and Amazon's 2017 purchase of Whole Foods Markets.
What to watch: Other companies affected could theoretically include Apple and Walmart, although Warren didn't explicitly call them out. Warren has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that she is a capitalist, not a socialist, but that she believes America's current application of capitalism is so lawless as to be counterproductive.
Silicon Valley, so far, is largely rolling its eyes. Warren remains a long shot to get the Democratic Party nomination, let alone win the presidency.
- Even if elected, she couldn't implement her plan by fiat. She'd need congressional help for much of it, including approval for her hand-picked regulators, and inevitably she would face court challenges on forced divestitures.
- President Trump expressed opposition to AT&T's Time Warner acquisition during the campaign and his DOJ sued to block the deal. He lost.
- Big Tech believes that consumers are more concerned with privacy than with power.
I spoke to several tech deal-makers over the weekend, and none of them said that Warren's plan is causing even a tentative hiccup in their active pipeline.
But, but, but: Donald Trump was a long shot to get the Republican Party nomination, let alone win the presidency.
- There well could be congressional support for such a plan if Democrats take control of both chambers, particularly given that it's really a tech-targeted version of the "Better Deal" plan released in mid-2017.
- Courts are currently hamstrung a bit by current antitrust law, which hasn't been updated much since J.P. Morgan was known more as a person than as a bank. Change the laws, change the rulings.
- Big Tech has been shown to have a tin ear when it comes to the consequences of its actions.
- Tech deal-makers don't care if they close a merger tomorrow that gets unwound in three years. The advisory fees don't get refunded.