This Small Business Saturday…
It’s not enough to support small business, we must rein in Big Tech.
We need to rein in Big Tech’s monopoly power to give small business owners the chance to compete, innovate, and succeed.
Share our video of small business owners speaking out against Big Tech monopolies:
Main Street Against Big Tech is elevating the experiences of small business owners:
“I started to run Facebook ads. When the people come [to my store] I always ask, ‘how do you know about us?’ Very little I hear, ‘oh I saw this on Facebook.’ I don’t know if my ad is making a difference. There’s no transparency. We can’t talk to anyone in the company. It’s faceless.”
Guadalupe Ramirez
Owner of AlterNatives Boutique
Member of the Main Street Alliance
Richmond, VA
“When I heard that Facebook had been going around saying that they’ve made a significant difference in the lives of small business and that nobody should regulate them, I find that appalling and disgusting.”
Anita Thomas
Exec. Director of Carolyn Dorfman Dance
Member of the Main Street Alliance
Union, NJ
“We have no choice. We have to play in the Google world. We have to spend a lot of resources to understand what it means to be search engine optimized in Google search. Big Tech companies like Google can change the rules without any transparency.”
Sabrina Parsons
CEO of Palo Alto Software
Member of the Main Street Alliance
Eugene, OR
“I recognize after 50 years that competition is necessary to make the business the best it can be. But competing against Amazon is patently unfair...If only monopolies exist, then you’re only only to get the best the monopoly can be. The consumer loses choice.”
David Guernsey
CEO of Guernsey Office Products
Member of Small Business Rising
Sterling, VA
“Over the last eight years, 99 percent of every new digital dollar has gone to Facebook or Google…We are competing in a world where they make the rules. If we continue to go down the road that we are going down, we’re going to end up in a very dark world and it’s going to be one where there isn’t local journalism.”
Doug Reynolds
Owner of The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Member of the Main Street Alliance
Charleston, WV
“I don’t think Amazon is ever looking out for anyone other than Amazon. Amazon allows copycat duplication of products. There’s no competition when an Amazon-made duplicate product can put someone out of business. It’s very predatory.”
Gina Schaefer
CEO of 13 ACE Hardware Stores
Member of Small Business Rising
Washington, DC
“I don’t think that Facebook and Google have small businesses’ best interest in mind. Their number one duty is to maximize profit any way they can and Big Tech is holding up small business as their human shield. Facebook and Google should stop trying to small business wash what they’re doing.”
Aaron Seyedian
Founder of Well-Paid Maids
Member of the Main Street Alliance
Takoma Park, MD
These small business owners represent a diverse array of industries across the country. Main Street Against Big Tech collected these stories in partnership with Main Street Alliance and Small Business Rising.