Skip to main content
Navigate back to homepage
Open search bar.
Open main navigation menu

Main navigation

  • Study
    UCL Portico statue
    Study at UCL

    Being a student at UCL is about so much more than just acquiring knowledge. Studying here gives you the opportunity to realise your potential as an individual, and the skills and tools to thrive.

    • Undergraduate courses
    • Graduate courses
    • Short courses
    • Study abroad
    • Centre for Languages & International Education
  • Research
    Tree-of-Life-MehmetDavrandi-UCL-EastmanDentalInstitute-042_2017-18-800x500-withborder (1)
    Research at UCL

    Find out more about what makes UCL research world-leading, how to access UCL expertise, and teams in the Office of the Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement).

    • Engage with us
    • Explore our Research
    • Initiatives and networks
    • Research news
  • Engage
    UCL Print room
    Engage with UCL

    Discover the many ways you can connect with UCL, and how we work with industry, government and not-for-profit organisations to tackle tough challenges.

    • Alumni
    • Business partnerships and collaboration
    • Global engagement
    • News and Media relations
    • Public Policy
    • Schools and priority groups
    • Visit us
  • About
    UCL welcome quad
    About UCL

    Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 16,000 staff and 50,000 students from 150 different countries.

    • Who we are
    • Faculties
    • Governance
    • President and Provost
    • Strategy
  • Active parent page: The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
    • Study
    • Active parent page: Research
    • Our schools and institutes
    • People
    • Ideas
    • Engage
    • News and Events
    • About

Crouching tiger, hidden dragons

A new IIPP report reveals how 10-K disclosure rules help Big Tech conceal market power and expand platform dominance.

cover_crouching_tiger_hidden_dragons_800x500.png

Breadcrumb trail

  • The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment
  • Research

Faculty menu

  • Research projects
  • Current page: Research publications
  • REF 2021
  • Ethics in the built environment
  • Impact at The Bartlett
  • UCL Royal Academy of Engineering, Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design
  • The Building Envelope Research Network
  • UCL Circularity Hub

Download the report

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, policy report no. 2021/04

This new report finds that the main annual financial reporting framework imposed by the US regulators on ‘Big Tech’ firms (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft) is not fit for purpose. The Security and Exchange Commission’s annual ‘10-K’ disclosure reporting instead helps ‘Big Tech’ companies conceal market power, increase profit margins, and expand their platforms’ dominance. A collaboration between the authors, IIPP economists Ilan Strauss, Mariana Mazzucato and Josh Ryan-Collins and Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Big Tech reformer Tim O’Reilly, provide their recommendations within the report. 

Authors

  • Ilan Strauss | Research Associate, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Tim O'Reilly | Founder and CEO, O’Reilly Media; Visiting Professor of Practice, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Mariana Mazzucato | Director, and Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Josh Ryan-Collins | Head of Finance and Macroeconomics, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Reference

Strauss, I., O’Reilly, T., Mazzucato, M. and Ryan-Collins, J. (2021). Crouching tiger, hidden dragons: how 10-K disclosure rules help Big Tech conceal market power and expand platform dominance. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, IIPP Policy Report No. 2021/04. Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/2021-04

Browse more IIPP policy publications

UCL footer

Visit

  • Bloomsbury Theatre and Studio
  • Library, Museums and Collections
  • UCL Maps
  • UCL Shop
  • Contact UCL

Students

  • Accommodation
  • Current Students
  • Moodle
  • Students' Union

Staff

  • Inside UCL
  • Staff Intranet
  • Work at UCL
  • Human Resources

UCL social media menu

  • Link to Soundcloud
  • Link to Flickr
  • Link to TikTok
  • Link to Youtube
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Twitter

University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7679 2000

© 2025 UCL

Essential

  • Disclaimer
  • Freedom of Information
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • Slavery statement
  • Log in