{
  "id": 7604686,
  "title": "Incorporation law gave Big Tech state-like power. Can it now help rein it in?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/incorporation-law-gave-big-tech-state-like-power-can-it-now-help-rein",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-15T18:12:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/incorporation-law-gave-big-tech-state-like-power-can-it-now-help-rein-it-in-291762"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The corporation, a legal entity, has the capacity to accumulate wealth and power over time, much like the historical East India Company. Incorporation allows a business to own property, enter into contracts, and endure even when individual components are replaced. This legal structure has enabled modern technology corporations to control digital markets, communication, and artificial intelligence, akin to the East India Company's territorial and governmental powers in the 19th century. While the corporate form is not the sole reason for Big Tech's dominance, it acts as a multiplier, allowing existing advantages to grow and persist over time. History has shown that states can curtail the power of immensely powerful corporations, but incorporating such conditions within the corporate law itself could provide a more targeted approach to regulation before misconduct occurs.",
  "summary": "Governments can curb corporate power. But first we need to understand how corporate law allows private ventures to accumulate power that can endure for generations.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}