The Age of Extraction

The pre-eminent exponent of anti-monopoly law explains why we have no option but to break Big Tech's monopolies, and that doing so would unleash innovation and growth.

'Wu deftly breaks down one of the greatest challenges of our age - the unaccountable power of tech platforms - into such digestible pieces that the solutions for what to do become dead obvious' KAREN HAO, author of Empire of AI

'Tim Wu is a titan . . . a must-read' Financial Times

Today's dominant tech platforms - the places where we exchange information and buy things online - could be the most powerful engines of prosperity ever invented. Instead, they are the most effective instruments of wealth extraction ever created and a grave threat to our societies.

Here the pre-eminent exponent of anti-monopoly law Tim Wu, who coined the phrase 'net neutrality', explains why breaking Big Tech's monopolies would unleash innovation and growth and is essential if we are to avoid further social division. In their place he sets out the five key ways in which future platforms should be managed to harness the extraordinary potential of these essential technologies and to help build the balanced economies we so badly need.