Tim Wu, an outspoken critic of Big Tech, is joining the National Economic Council as a special assistant to President Biden for tech and competition policy
The National Economic Council gains a dedicated adviser on technology and competition policy, giving Biden’s economic-policy team a prominent Big Tech critic in its internal deliberations.
Big Tech companies face an immediate political signal that the White House intends a more confrontational posture on competition, as described in the report.
Second-order effects
Wu’s role gives competition concerns a clearer route into White House economic coordination, increasing pressure on technology companies to account for antitrust policy alongside their business agendas.
The later competition executive order linked to Wu’s work turns the personnel choice into an agenda-setting mechanism, rather than a standalone appointment.
Third-order effects
The appointment points to competition policy becoming a durable part of federal technology governance, with senior White House staffing helping translate criticism of platform power into executive-branch priorities.
Wu’s later departure after helping shape the agenda suggests that this approach can outlast a single adviser when it is embedded in White House policy actions.
The trend: The Biden White House is bringing technology competition policy into the core economic-policy apparatus rather than treating it as a narrow regulatory issue.
Happy to say I'm joining the Biden White House to work on Technology and Competition Policy at the National Economic Council. Putting this twitter feed on hold for now — so long!
NEW: Big Antitrust Crusader Joins White House @POTUS Biden To Appoint Tim Wu, A Leading Critic of Big Tech, as Tech & Competition Policy Special Assistant to the President. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Good news for consumers — heck, Americans writ large — to have Wu at the @whitehouse again: https://www.nytimes.com/... Still wondering who the 5th @uscto will be. https://twitter.com/...
Two more important antitrust policy roles are still unfilled: - Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economics at the DOJ - FTC commissioner to replace Rohit Chopra https://twitter.com/...
“The appointment of @superwuster ... suggests that the administration plans to take on the size and influence of companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, including working with Congress on legislation to strengthen antitrust laws.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Big fan of @superwuster - don't always agree with 100% of his solutions but I'm glad as hell he's putting them out. This is a huge move by the Biden admin and Facebook should see it as a signal to cut the bullshit and get serious or get wrecked. Let the negotiations begin. https:…
Tim Wu's role, focused on competition policy, is new to the National Economic Council, @ceciliakang reports. He will also focus on competition in labor policy and concentration in power in agriculture and the drug industry. https://twitter.com/...
The bad news keep rolling in for Apple and the rest of Big Tech. States across the US are pursuing laws to regulate their abuses. Europe has finally kicked into high gear on this as well. Now the White House is appointing confrontational figures too. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@ewarren: ""Tim has been a longtime antitrust advocate, and he has pushed public officials to break up and rein in Big Tech," Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “I'm glad to see him in this role.”
And for the youngs in the room, @superwuster is best known for going after big telecom and for coining the term net neutrality, a fight expected to continue during the Biden administration
@superwuster brings a Big Tech trust-busting POV to the National Economic Council and is supported by the progressives in the Democratic party like @ewarren, but also some moderates like @SenAmyKlobuchar - who both applaud his appointment