On this episode of the podcast, Amanda Head talks with author and The Heritage Foundation’s Senior Fellow for Technology Daniel Cochrane to unpack the high-stakes antitrust fight against Facebook (now Meta) and what it reveals about Big Tech’s grip on American life. Cochrane breaks down the 2019–2020 antitrust case targeting Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, explaining why Judge Boasberg ultimately ruled the company wasn’t a monopoly due to rising competition from TikTok and YouTube.

Cochrane goes deeper, arguing that Meta’s real advantage isn’t just market share, it’s “stickiness,” or the way the platform locks users into its ecosystem, harvesting data, shaping behavior, and exerting enormous political influence. He also details reports of collusion with the FBI, Meta’s ambitions to break into the Chinese market, and why current antitrust laws are too outdated to rein in today’s tech giants.

With AI accelerating societal change, especially among young people, Cochrane calls for modernized tech laws and urges listeners to take back control of their privacy by minimizing digital footprints and limiting social media exposure.