Steve Wozniak laments power of big tech, says Apple should split up

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recently appeared on Bloomberg TV, where he talked about a number of topics, including Trump's ongoing trade war with China, Apple's pivot to services, and the importance of privacy. Wozniak also shared his thoughts on big tech, and how he believes Apple should have split up a long time ago.

On big tech:

I am really against monopoly powers being used in unfair, anti-trust manners. Not opening up the world to equal competition. You know, using your power in unfair ways. And I think that's happened a lot in big tech, and that they can get away with a lot of bad things.

Wozniak went on to say he doesn't like seeing companies with a big presence in one market subsume another.

"I'm pretty much in favor of looking into splitting up companies," Wozniak said.

On Apple splitting up:

I wish Apple on its own had split up a long time ago and spun off independent divisions to far away places and let them think independently the way Hewlett-Packard did when I worked there. But that's my opinion. It's not like there's not one set of facts that makes it right. Other people can come to other conclusions. I think big tech has gotten too big; it's too powerful a force in our life, and it's taken our choices away.

According to Wozniak, out of big tech, Apple is the best of the companies, because it cares about its customers. Wozniak noted that Apple focuses on making good products, not tracking its users to make a profit.

Ultimately, Wozniak said he's in favor of more competition, because it forces companies to improve their products, which is better for the consumer.

"Competition forces companies to make good products and be the best at it, and not just say, 'We've got you trapped,'" Wozniak said.

"I'm always for the consumer over the producer," Wozniak said.