GETTY George Soros has attacked Facebook and Google over their business methods

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Mr Soros, whose management fund dumped all of its 109,451 shares in Facebook towards the end of last year, said there was a danger "data-rich IT monopolies" could start to form powerful alliances with authoritarian states. And he warned this would probably happen in Russia and China first if action was not taken to thwart their global ambitions. He said: “It may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even George Orwell could have imagined.” Mr Soros compared the internet giants to casinos in the way they “manipulate attention” and "deliberately engineer addiction" to their services. He acknowledged Facebook and Google had played an ”innovative and liberating role" in the past but warned they had become "obstacles to innovation" as they became more powerful.

GETTY George Soros fears the power of the internet giants could take a sinister turn

It may well result in a web of totalitarian control the likes of which not even George Orwell could have imagined George Soros

Mr Soros said the two firms raked in billions by making users stick on their sites for long periods of times while content providers had to "accept whatever terms they are offered". Writing on the Project Syndicate op-ed website Mr Soros said: "Indeed, the exceptional profitability of these companies is largely a function of their avoiding responsibility – and payment – for the content on their platforms. "The companies claim that they are merely distributing information. But the fact that they are near-monopoly distributors makes them public utilities and should subject them to more stringent regulation, aimed at preserving competition, innovation and fair and open access." Mr Soros accused the companies of "exploiting the data they control" and using "discriminatory pricing" to do this.

GETTY George Soros compared firms such as Google with casinos

He said: “Social media companies deceive their users by manipulating their attention, directing it toward their own commercial purposes, and deliberately engineering addiction to the services they provide. “This can be very harmful, particularly for adolescents. "There is a similarity between internet platforms and gambling companies. Casinos have developed techniques to hook customers to the point that they gamble away all of their money, even money they don't have." Mr Soros said he believed tighter regulation and and efficient taxation would lead to the eventual demise of the internet giants and that European Union regulators were more "farsighted" than those in the US when it came to social policies. He said: "It is only a matter of time before the global dominance of the US internet companies is broken.”

GETTY Some users can become addicted to the internet

EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova has told Facebook, Twitter and Google to do more to bring their user terms in line with European law, ramping up pressure on the tech giants after their efforts were deemed too little. The EU executive and consumer protection authorities said the three companies have only partially addressed concerns about their liability and how users were informed about content removal or contract terminations. The authorities across the bloc, who requested the changes last year, have the power to fine the firms if they do not comply. Ms Jourova said the use of social media networks as advertising and commercial platforms meant they faced the same rules as offline service providers.

GETTY Google has been heavily criticised by George Soros