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The headlines are grim for one of Silicon Valley’s darlings: the Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a probe into AppLovin’s data-collection practices, a move that immediately sent investors running for the exits. Reporters say the investigation is being handled by SEC enforcement officials who specialize in cyber and emerging technologies — the very same bureaucratic squads that have turned enforcement into political theater.
Markets reacted the way markets should when credible regulatory scrutiny lands: AppLovin shares plunged double digits on the news, wiping out massive paper wealth for founders and early backers. Media estimates put the one-day hit to executives’ and early investors’ net worths in the billions, a brutal reminder that insider wealth built on opaque ad practices is fragile when the facts come out.
This crisis didn’t spring up overnight. Short-seller reports and a whistleblower complaint earlier this year accused AppLovin of “fingerprinting” users and bending platform rules to juice ad targeting — serious allegations that management has repeatedly denied. Those short-seller reports kicked off the scrutiny that’s now metastasized into a regulatory probe, showing how private-market whistleblowing and skeptical analysts can expose risky business models.
AppLovin’s response has been predictable: legal defenses, no detailed public answers, and assurances that the company engages with regulators in the ordinary course. That won’t satisfy Americans who expect both transparency and accountability, especially when a firm’s growth has been fueled by data-hungry ad tactics that may have skirted partners’ terms. The company has even hired outside counsel to investigate the short-seller claims — a sign that this fight is only getting started.
Let’s be clear: conservatives should cheer when markets and watchdogs expose sloppy or deceptive corporate behavior, because free markets depend on honest rules and truthful disclosures. At the same time, we must be vigilant about bureaucratic overreach; enforcement should be lawful and consistent, not a political cudgel used to kneecap American innovation or to redistribute wealth by regulation-by-press-release.
This episode also exposes a larger truth about Big Tech’s business model: when your profits rely on secretive data practices and you treat consumers and partners like mere inputs to an algorithm, you make yourself a target. Washington’s job is to protect consumers and ensure fair play — not to protect executives who thought they were above the rules — and Congress should insist on clear, technology-neutral standards so companies can’t game the system while regulators can’t weaponize enforcement whims.
Hardworking Americans watching this unfold should demand two things at once: robust privacy protections that preserve individual liberty and market integrity, and accountability for corporate malfeasance without turning enforcement into a partisan spectacle. If AppLovin did what it’s accused of, let the law run its course; if the SEC is politicking, then lawmakers must step in and restore predictable rule of law for business and investors alike.
