The US appears determined to go even further than Europe in curbing the power of Big Tech
The US has changed its tune when it comes to Big Tech: The US House of Representatives is more determined than ever to pass new antitrust laws intended to curb the power of Big Tech. The report published last year by the antitrust subcommittee already gave a flavour of what was to come, as it painted a picture of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google as gatekeepers with significant market power over “large swathes” of the US economy, which they have exploited in anticompetitive ways. Last week, five bills were introduced in Congress, which were designed to address many of the recommendations of last year’s report.
What the five bills propose: One ensures antitrust agencies get more funding through higher merger fees. Another introduces the concept of data portability, allowing consumers to take their digital history to other services. The most sweeping reforms prohibit discriminatory conducts such as self-preferencing (“American Innovation and Choice Online Act”), forbid acquisitions of potential competitors (“Platform Competition and Opportunity Act”), and even require platforms to separate services where conflicts of interests arise (“Ending Platform Monopolies Act”). Taken together, these reforms potentially go farther than the proposed European Digital Markets Act, which would introduce behavioural remedies for companies identified as gatekeepers, but (in its current form), does not strengthen the safeguards on mergers.
Bipartisan support creates a rare opportunity for these reforms to pass: This is perhaps a rare moment in US history where these bills have a high likelihood of being adopted. Historically, US policymakers have been very protective of US business interests, and have looked to strengthen national champions so they can thrive in the global economy. Last year’s subcommittee report showed that the market power of these companies is now a more pressing concern, and that Representatives are no longer convinced that supporting Big Tech at the expense of competition is the right thing to do. The fact that many Republicans believe that Big Tech has an anticonservative bias, resulting in limitations to free speech online, has created some bipartisan support for limiting these companies’ market power. This increases the chances that some of the bills will pass easily, although the most radical ones may face some opposition. After all, the subcommittee report was only signed off by the Democrats – the Republicans disagreed with the proposed remedies.
