— MT exclusive: Major tech companies are playing the role of government regulators, and that’s starting to spread across the economy, the American Economic Liberties Project argues.

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FIRST IN MT: TECH GATEKEEPERS STIFLE ENTREPRENEURS, NONPROFIT SAYS — In an initiative launching today called “Access to Markets,” the American Economic Liberties Project, an anti-monopoly advocacy group, argues that private companies — particularly those in tech — have come to act as private regulators, controlling how entrepreneurs and businesses both big and small can reach customers and compete.

— Not just the ‘Big Four’: Delivery platforms like UberEats and DoorDash can affect the success of restaurants. Entertainment giant Ticketmaster dominates the live music industry. These companies have become “de facto private regulators setting market norms and terms,” Denise Hearn, a senior fellow with AELP and a leader of the initiative, told Leah. In a white paper released today, Hearn and her co-authors explored how some of the conduct by tech giants that legislators have criticized is spreading to other industries.