A Quiet Victory in the Lone Star State
Let’s be honest, the constant drumbeat of “Big Tech is in trouble” can get a bit tiresome. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic seem to spend their days dreaming up new ways to clip the wings of Silicon Valley’s giants. So, when a federal court in Texas quietly told the state its grand plan to ID-check every app store user was unconstitutional, I admit I felt a flicker of something other than surprise. It was a reaffirmation of a simple truth. Power, once consolidated, is awfully hard to dismantle.
The proposed law was, to put it mildly, a bit of a dog’s breakfast. It would have forced Apple and Google into becoming digital bouncers, checking the age of every single person downloading an app. The cost and logistical chaos would have been monumental. The court sided with the tech firms, and in doing so, shored up the very foundations of their dominance. It wasn't just a legal win, it was a practical one that saved them billions.