Podcast News·Transcript

American antitrust laws were designed to stop companies from wielding the power of kings. But in the 1970s, a legal scholar named Robert Bork convinced Washington to ignore those laws. Host Cory Doctorow traces how Bork’s influence gave digital giants like Amazon a decades-long free pass to dominate markets, crush competitors, exploit their own business clients, and treat users like hostages — and how, after 40 years of inaction, former FTC chair Lina Khan took on the fight to rein in monopoly power.

CBC News · Posted: Aug 21, 2025 7:52 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 21

The logo for Understood: Who Broke the Internet? In addition to the title, there is a broken hard drive against a black background. "Episode Transcript" appears beside the logo on a dark grey background. (Art by Good Tape/CBC)

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