Loading player US lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, presented five antitrust bills to Congress on Friday that could have major implications for the operations of large American tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Some proposals, if they become law, could even result in the spin-off into several parts of some of these companies, such as Amazon and Google.
Bills will have to be approved by both the House and the Senate to enter into force, where they will undoubtedly encounter numerous obstacles and will be modified through amendments: experts believe the proposals have little chance of becoming law, at least in their current form, and that in any case the negotiation will be long and complex.
Despite this, the presentation of the bills is a rather strong signal of how American politics, both on the right and on the left, have recently taken a critical attitude towards Silicon Valley companies, which, moreover, already have to face numerous proceedings. for antitrust in different parts of the world, such as the European Union and India. And also in the United States, several important processes are already underway, such as the one between Apple and the video game manufacturer Epic Games.
– Read also: The antitrust trial against Apple, explained
The five measures presented concern various aspects of the activities of the largest technology platforms, from the acquisitions of rival companies to the management of competition, up to the possible implementation of anti-competitive practices within the platforms.
Each of the bills has both Democratic and Republican Party signatories, although Republicans supporting the measures are a distinct minority in the courtroom, and especially in the Senate this could make their approval extremely difficult. The main sponsor of these proposals is David Cicilline, Democratic MP and chairman of the congressional subcommittee on antitrust.
Each bill targets a specific violation.
• The American Innovation and Choice Online Act is about making sure that dominant companies do not compete unfairly with smaller ones, and could make it harder for Apple and Google to impose rules and prices on their App Stores on developers, or to Amazon favor its own products over those of third-party sellers.
• The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act prevents platforms from acquiring other companies that could pose a competitive threat, and requires them to demonstrate that the acquisitions they make would not penalize competition in the market. Numerous tech companies have been criticized for buying up potential growing rivals, such as Facebook did with Instagram and WhatsApp.
• The Ending Platform Monopolies Act is one of the most feared and criticized measures by technology companies, because it makes it illegal to own a platform and at the same time offer services on the same platform, in competition with other companies. If it becomes law, this proposal could lead to the unbundling of Amazon, which sells its own brand products on its e-commerce, and even to separate Google from YouTube, because the search engine would have incentives to favor the video streaming service in its results. .
• The Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act is mandated to increase competition by making data portability mandatory, so that users can easily switch between platforms while maintaining their data and social networks.
• The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act increases the resources of US antitrust agencies, without increasing taxpayer taxes.
– Read also: Apple and Facebook have been giving them for a while
The proposals have already been heavily criticized by associations representing the interests of technology companies. Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which has Facebook, Amazon and Google among its members, said the bills would prevent users from using popular and beloved products, such as Google Maps and Amazon Basics-branded products. He also said that the rules were tailored “for a few companies”, and that this “hurts competition and consumers”.
Congressman Cicilline, who worked on many of the proposals, said Friday that “unregulated technology monopolies have too much power over our economy. They are in a perfect position to decide who wins and who loses, destroy small businesses, raise prices to the detriment of consumers and take people away.
The legislative path of these bills is very uncertain. Much of the Democratic Party is in favor of their approval, and several proposals could easily pass through the House, where the Democrats have a solid majority. However, things could be more complicated in the Senate, where Democrats have much tighter numbers.
Despite having a generally critical position towards technology companies, the Republican Party has traditionally been reluctant to approve state interventions in economic life and to limit the activities of large businesses, even if in recent years this position has evolved and partially changed, especially among the Republicans closest to former President Donald Trump.
